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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. fall — the season
  3. row — a line
  4. field — a subject
  5. drill — army training
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. drill — the tool
  18. fan — a supporter

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