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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: bat · cap · staff · spring · fan · wake · roll · calf

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. spring — the season
  3. staff — employees
  4. roll — a cake
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — a trail
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. spring — of water
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. roll — a list
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. bat — the 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