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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: lean · mine · bat · fan · lie · stand · hand · hide

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hand — in cards
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lean — thin
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. lean — to bend
  15. stand — to bear
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bat — the animal
  19. hand — help
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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