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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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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — finally
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. last — final
  7. hand — in cards
  8. field — a subject
  9. last — to go on
  10. hand — help
  11. wake — a trail
  12. field — farmland
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. field — for sport
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. calf — of the leg

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