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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: rest · deal · march · ball · snap · roll · prune · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rest — what's left
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. rest — a break
  6. march — the month
  7. ball — a great time
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — a cake
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. deal — to handle
  12. snap — to click
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. march — the month
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rest — what's left
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. ball — a dance
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. march — music

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