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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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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. present — a gift
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — there
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stand — to bear
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bat — the animal
  15. hand — help
  16. clip — a video
  17. rush — hurry
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. present — the time now
  24. hand — 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