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

Word bank: stand · bat · snap · sharp · kid · fan · present · chair

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. present — there
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. kid — to tease
  14. sharp — clever
  15. present — a gift
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. stand — to bear
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. kid — child
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bat — the animal
  24. present — the time now

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