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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: track · march · band · row · fan · perch · wound · bulb

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. march — the month
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bulb — for light
  5. track — a song
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. row — to paddle
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. track — a path
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a ring
  17. march — music
  18. bulb — for light
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. track — to keep track
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. march — the month
  24. fan — to cool the air

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