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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: march · band · pass · fan · squash · rock · mate · wound

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. band — a ring
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. rock — music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pass — a permit
  15. march — the month
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. squash — the sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. rock — a stone
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. fan — a supporter

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