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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 120 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: cabinet · bound · fan · mine · chair · leaves · stick · bat

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bound — certain
  12. mine — for digging
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. chair — a leader
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chair — to sit on

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