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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.

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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.

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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: root · fan · net · row · season · fall · wound · march

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. fall — to drop
  4. row — to paddle
  5. net — after costs
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. net — for catching
  8. root — of a plant
  9. fall — to drop
  10. march — the month
  11. root — of a word
  12. march — music
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wound — an injury
  15. root — the cause
  16. row — a line
  17. wound — an injury
  18. march — the month
  19. net — in sport
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fall — the season
  24. fan — to cool the 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