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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: march · wake · toast · fan · mug · roll · bat · spring

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wake — a trail
  3. roll — a cake
  4. march — music
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. mug — a face
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. roll — a list
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mug — a cup
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mug — to rob
  17. toast — bread
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. march — the month
  21. spring — a coil
  22. march — the month
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fan — to cool the air

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