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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: land · fan · dip · deal · field · court · wake · rush

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. field — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. land — ground
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. field — a subject
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. wake — a trail
  13. dip — to sink
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — farmland
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. court — of a king
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. court — for sport
  24. deal — to handle

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