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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: calf · court · cold · mate · fan · fall · racket · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mate — a friend
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. court — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fall — the season
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bass — the fish
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. court — of law
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. court — of a king
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mate — to breed
  24. fall — to drop

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