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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.

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: straw · file · perch · march · cell · fan · plane · mine

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. march — the month
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. cell — a phone
  8. file — a document
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. plane — a tool
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. march — music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mine — for digging
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. file — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. cell — in biology
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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