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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: bay · shower · sharp · fall · club · field · fan · hand

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. hand — help
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fall — the season
  8. hand — in cards
  9. shower — rain
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — for sport
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. shower — to wash
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. club — for golf
  24. sharp — clever

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