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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · club · hand · last · rock · kick · safe · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. last — finally
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. hand — help
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. march — music
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. last — final
  13. kick — in football
  14. club — for dancing
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — music
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. club — a group
  21. last — to go on
  22. rock — a stone
  23. club — for golf
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com