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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
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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: court · field · bowl · fan · straw · staff · roll · race

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. roll — a list
  3. field — a subject
  4. staff — employees
  5. race — a contest
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. race — humankind
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. court — of a king
  13. staff — employees
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. court — for sport
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. field — farmland
  20. roll — a cake
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. field — for sport
  23. race — the arms race
  24. court — of law

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