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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.

Make a worksheet

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: march · spring · wind · snap · fan · racket · fine · sharp

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wind — moving air
  8. spring — a coil
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. spring — of water
  12. snap — to click
  13. spring — the season
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. fine — all right
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — clever
  22. march — the month
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wind — moving air

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