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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: coach · saw · wound · fan · march · calf · bat · net

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. wound — an injury
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wound — an injury
  8. net — in sport
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. net — for catching
  13. saw — the tool
  14. march — the month
  15. bat — the animal
  16. march — music
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. march — the month
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. net — after costs

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