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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wound · hand · field · wave · tube · land · saw

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. land — ground
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. field — a subject
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. tube — a container
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hand — help
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. land — a country
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — farmland
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. field — for sport

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