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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — farmland
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. net — for catching
  12. pop — to visit
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — a subject
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pop — music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. net — after costs
  20. pop — soda
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. field — for sport
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. calf — a young animal

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