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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: field · bay · staff · fan · calf · net · wound · rash

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — a series
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. staff — employees
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. staff — a stick
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. field — a subject
  15. net — for catching
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — farmland
  19. staff — employees
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — for sport
  22. net — in sport
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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