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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 116 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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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: stand · calf · racket · pound · game · spring · fan · kick

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. kick — in football
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. game — a match
  12. stand — to bear
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. calf — a young animal

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