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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: game · fan · saw · content · calf · last · wound · rush

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wound — an injury
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. last — final
  10. saw — the tool
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. last — finally
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. content — happy
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. content — the amount
  20. wound — an injury
  21. game — wild animals
  22. last — to go on
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — hurry

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