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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.

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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: track · bat · wound · fan · ground · board · lean · fine

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. track — a song
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. lean — to bend
  9. ground — crushed
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — to get on
  12. track — a path
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ground — a position
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. track — to keep track
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. fine — all right
  24. fine — high quality

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