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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. suit — in cards
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bore — to tire
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bat — the animal
  8. plane — a tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. suit — clothes
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to drill
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. suit — to fit

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