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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 120 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: fan · hand · straw · march · chip · club · drill · rest

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. club — a group
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. club — for golf
  5. rest — a break
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. march — the month
  14. chip — to eat
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. drill — a practice
  20. hand — help
  21. chip — for betting
  22. club — for dancing
  23. hand — in cards
  24. chip — in a computer

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