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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: fork · fan · squash · hand · fine · rash · board · march

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rash — hasty
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fork — in a road
  8. march — music
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. hand — help
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — in cards
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. march — the month
  24. rash — a series

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