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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: stand · wind · perch · bat · row · file · fan · hide

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. stand — to bear
  8. file — a tool
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wind — moving air
  11. perch — the fish
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wind — moving air
  15. file — a line of people
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. file — a document
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. row — a line
  21. bat — the animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. 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