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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kid — child
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. kick — in football
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — to bend
  10. key — for a lock
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. lean — thin
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stand — to bear
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. key — the most important part
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. key — in music

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