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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: kick · mate · season · fall · fan · kid · land · march

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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. kick — with a leg
  4. season — in sport
  5. mate — a partner
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. land — ground
  9. march — music
  10. fall — the season
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. land — a country
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kick — in football
  17. kid — child
  18. fall — to drop
  19. mate — a friend
  20. season — of the year
  21. land — to come down
  22. kid — to tease
  23. march — the month
  24. mate — to breed

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