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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: land · hand · pitcher · lean · bay · racket · fan · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lean — thin
  5. land — ground
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. land — a country
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. hand — help
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. land — to come down
  24. racket — a loud noise

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