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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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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: band · fall · fan · craft · chip · land · net · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fall — to drop
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. fall — to drop
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. net — after costs
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. band — a ring
  13. fall — the season
  14. chip — to eat
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. net — in sport
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. net — for catching
  23. band — a music group
  24. land — a country

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