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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: racket · lie · spell · rock · fan · field · game · kid

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. spell — a short time
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. game — a match
  6. field — for sport
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. field — farmland
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. game — wild animals
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. spell — letters
  17. field — a subject
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. kid — to tease
  20. lie — to recline
  21. rock — music
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spell — magic

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