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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.

Make a worksheet

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: fan · mark · straw · wound · calf · chest · pitcher · stand

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mark — a trace
  5. stand — to bear
  6. mark — a grade
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chest — a box
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chest — of your body
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. mark — to pay attention

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