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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 · straw · calf · stick · last · leaves · bound · net

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. last — final
  5. net — in sport
  6. bound — certain
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. last — to go on
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. last — finally
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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