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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: game · pop · wind · fan · season · staff · racket · tear

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pop — music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — a match
  15. tear — from crying
  16. season — in sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pop — soda
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pop — to visit
  24. staff — employees

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