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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stand — to bear
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. ball — a great time
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. sharp — clever
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. staff — a stick
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. ball — a dance
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. bat — the animal

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