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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: plane · wind · fan · mark · kid · field · fall · pop

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. plane — a tool
  3. fall — the season
  4. mark — a grade
  5. field — for sport
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. fall — to drop
  14. kid — child
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. field — a subject
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wind — moving air
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pop — music
  21. field — farmland
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — an aircraft

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