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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: pop · spring · fan · object · band · chest · march · deal

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chest — a box
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. pop — music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. spring — of water
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. band — a ring
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. object — to protest
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. object — an aim
  15. band — a music group
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. object — a thing
  19. deal — to handle
  20. march — music
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pop — to visit

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