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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.

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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: wake · march · land · spell · fan · tear · chair · game

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. march — the month
  3. land — a country
  4. spell — a short time
  5. march — the month
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wake — a trail
  10. tear — from crying
  11. march — music
  12. game — a match
  13. spell — letters
  14. land — ground
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. land — to come down
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. spell — magic
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chair — a leader
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chair — to sit on
  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