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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 · pop · calf · mine · racket · game · date · file

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pop — music
  3. game — a match
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. file — a line of people
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. file — a document
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. date — the fruit
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pop — soda
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pop — to visit
  24. file — a tool

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