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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: date · field · mouse · hand · saw · fan · foot · season

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. season — in sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. field — for sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. hand — help
  9. foot — a measure
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. season — of the year
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. field — a subject
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. hand — in cards
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. field — farmland
  23. date — the fruit
  24. mouse — for a computer

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