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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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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: prune · fan · bat · stand · chair · fine

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. stand — to bear
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fine — high quality
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. chair — a leader
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bat — in an idiom

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