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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: march · craft · ground · saw · land · object · fan · perch

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. ground — a position
  3. object — a thing
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. saw — the tool
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. ground — the earth
  8. march — the month
  9. ground — crushed
  10. craft — a skill
  11. object — an aim
  12. craft — boats
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. march — the month
  15. object — to protest
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. land — to come down
  18. march — music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. land — a country
  22. perch — the fish
  23. land — ground
  24. perch — for a bird

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