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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: cell · fan · kick · chip · bat · stand · track · lie

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chip — to eat
  5. lie — to recline
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. chip — for betting
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bat — the animal
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. track — a path
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. stand — to bear
  22. track — a song
  23. kick — a thrill
  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