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

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cue — a signal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cue — for pool
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. kick — in football
  11. game — a match
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cue — a hint
  15. band — a music group
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. game — wild animals
  19. sharp — clever
  20. band — a ring
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. season — of the year
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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