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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: bear · court · racket · march · stem · fan · last · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. march — music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. game — a match
  7. bear — the animal
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. last — to go on
  13. bear — the animal
  14. last — final
  15. court — of law
  16. march — the month
  17. court — of a king
  18. stem — to come from
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. court — for sport
  21. last — finally
  22. march — the month
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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