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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 120 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: ball · sharp · last · saw · chest · field · staff · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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 — a supporter
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. last — to go on
  4. staff — employees
  5. field — farmland
  6. staff — employees
  7. ball — a dance
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ball — a great time
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. sharp — clever
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. field — for sport
  16. staff — a stick
  17. saw — the tool
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. last — finally
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. chest — a box
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. field — a subject
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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