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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: drill · fine · bat · fan · chair · pitcher

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. 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. fine — high quality
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. drill — army training
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fine — all right
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. 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