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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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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: racket · fan · sharp · field · mate · fall · kick · rest

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. mate — to breed
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. field — a subject
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. mate — a partner
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fall — the season
  11. rest — a break
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fall — to drop
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. field — farmland
  18. sharp — clever
  19. rest — what's left
  20. field — for sport
  21. fall — to drop
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. mate — a friend
  24. fan — a supporter

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