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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: fan · pitcher · cap · branch · ball · foot · wake · court

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. court — for sport
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. ball — a dance
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cap — a hat
  10. court — of a king
  11. ball — a great time
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. cap — a lid
  15. branch — a division
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. court — of law
  20. wake — a trail
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. foot — a measure

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