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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: date · fan · leaves · land · patient · perch · march · squash

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. march — music
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. land — to come down
  10. squash — the sport
  11. perch — the fish
  12. squash — to crush
  13. march — the month
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. date — the fruit
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. march — the month
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. land — ground
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. land — a country
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. date — on the calendar

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