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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: band · fan · stock · march · squash · game · cap · cabinet

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. cap — of ice
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stock — shares
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stock — goods
  10. band — a music group
  11. squash — to crush
  12. march — music
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — a hat
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cabinet — ministers

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