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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: kick · mine · land · fan · foot · stock · band · rush

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. band — a ring
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. land — ground
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kick — in football
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. stock — shares
  19. band — a music group
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. foot — a measure
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stock — goods
  24. foot — the bottom

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