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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 120 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: foot · pitcher · tear · fan · dip · land · kid · wake

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. dip — to sink
  5. foot — a measure
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kid — to tease
  12. land — to come down
  13. kid — child
  14. tear — from crying
  15. land — ground
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. land — a country

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