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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 124 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: last · fan · band · cabinet · march · prune · wave · dip

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. last — finally
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. march — the month
  14. last — to go on
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. last — final
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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