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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · cell · straw · bat · last · roll · dip · mine

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bat — the animal
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. last — final
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cell — in biology
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. roll — a list
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cell — a phone
  20. last — to go on
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. roll — a cake
  23. last — finally
  24. mine — for digging

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