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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · mine · leaves · land · racket · fan · band · pitch

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. land — a country
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mine — for digging
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. band — a music group
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mate — a friend
  18. land — ground
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. band — a ring
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. land — to come down
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pitch — completely

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