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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · mine · fan · pop · root · court · march · leaves

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. march — the month
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. court — of a king
  11. mine — for digging
  12. march — the month
  13. court — for sport
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pop — to visit
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. pop — soda
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pop — music
  21. court — of law
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. root — the cause
  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