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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · fine · fan · mine · march · capital · game · wind

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. game — a match
  4. mine — for digging
  5. capital — a city
  6. fine — all right
  7. club — a group
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. club — for golf
  10. capital — money
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. club — for dancing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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