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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. field — for sport
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fine — all right
  9. last — finally
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. field — a subject
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fine — high quality
  16. last — final
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. field — farmland
  23. last — to go on
  24. racket — for tennis

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