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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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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: chip · cold · march · saw · club · fan · rest · stand

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rest — what's left
  3. march — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. club — for dancing
  6. march — the month
  7. rest — a break
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. club — for golf
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. chip — to eat
  18. rest — what's left
  19. club — a group
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. march — the month
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — to bear

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