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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: field · fan · wave · drill · arm · hand · saw · clip

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. saw — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — for sport
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. saw — the tool
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. drill — army training
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. drill — the tool
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. hand — help

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