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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bat · fan · chest · trunk · saw · march · root

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stand — to bear
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chest — a box
  13. saw — the tool
  14. root — the cause
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. march — the month
  17. root — of a word
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. root — of a plant
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bat — for baseball

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