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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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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: straw · hand · bark · fan · suit · face · clip · stand

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. suit — to fit
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. clip — a video
  8. suit — in cards
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. suit — clothes
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. hand — help
  17. face — to point toward
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. hand — part of the body

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