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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: file · season · game · plane · last · fan · calf · race

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. season — of the year
  3. race — humankind
  4. last — finally
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. last — to go on
  8. plane — a tool
  9. season — in sport
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. race — the arms race
  12. game — a match
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. file — a document
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. race — a contest
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. file — a tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. file — a line of people
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. game — wild animals
  24. last — final

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