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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chest — a box
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. court — for sport
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. foot — a measure
  11. court — of law
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. court — of a king
  18. foot — part of the body

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