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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: bass · cap · bark · field · stand · rush · kid · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bass — low music
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cap — a hat
  5. kid — child
  6. field — for sport
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stand — to bear
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cap — a lid
  11. kid — to tease
  12. field — a subject
  13. cap — of ice
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. field — farmland
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. rush — hurry
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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