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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: hand · arm · mug · tear · swing · bore · current · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hand — help
  3. current — happening now
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. current — electric
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tear — from crying
  11. current — of water
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to tire
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bore — to drill
  17. mug — to rob
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. tear — from crying

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