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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 · stand · fan · toast · trunk · kick · race · prune

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. race — a contest
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. race — humankind
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. stand — to bear
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. toast — bread
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. race — the arms race
  17. prune — to trim
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — help
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. kick — in football

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