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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: game · hand · calf · fan · chair · nail · fall · wake

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hand — help
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. game — a match
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. game — wild animals
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. fan — to cool the air

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