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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · stand · tear · calf · field · straw

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. field — for sport
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. tear — to rip
  10. field — farmland
  11. stand — to bear
  12. tear — from crying
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. tear — from crying
  17. field — a subject
  18. straw — dry grass

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