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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: game · nail · rush · march · saw · wound · tube · fan

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rush — hurry
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. game — wild animals
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. march — the month
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. tube — a container
  13. game — a match
  14. saw — the tool
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. march — the month
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. march — music
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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