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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: rule · march · fan · cabinet · mouse · season · lean · court

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. season — in sport
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — for sport
  6. lean — to bend
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. march — the month
  9. court — of law
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. march — the month
  12. court — of a king
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rule — a law
  19. march — music
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. season — of the year
  22. lean — thin
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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