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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: fan · toast · hand · present · clip · suit · bat · rash

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. toast — bread
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. present — a gift
  7. rash — a series
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. present — there
  12. clip — a video
  13. hand — help
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. rash — hasty
  16. suit — clothes
  17. present — the time now
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bat — the animal
  24. suit — in cards

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