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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. court — of law
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. hand — help
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. track — a song
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. field — farmland
  15. hand — in cards
  16. track — to keep track
  17. capital — a city
  18. court — for sport
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. court — of a king
  23. track — a path
  24. field — for sport

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