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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 116 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: fan · march · hand · cue · leaves · straw · fall · mark

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cue — a hint
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. cue — for pool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fall — the season
  13. cue — a signal
  14. mark — a trace
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. mark — a grade
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — in cards
  22. march — music
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. leaves — to go away

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