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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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. swing — to play on
  3. plane — a tool
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. swing — in golf
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. swing — music
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bark — to shout
  16. row — a line
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bat — the animal
  23. plane — in geometry
  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