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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: straw · cap · fan · fall · drill · field · ground · bay

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. field — a subject
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — the earth
  11. drill — the tool
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. drill — army training
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cap — of ice
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. drill — a practice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fall — the season
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cap — a lid

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