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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 · fan · last · lie · bat · arm · jam · cabinet

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. last — to go on
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. bat — the animal
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. last — finally
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. lie — to recline
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. last — final
  23. hand — in cards
  24. lie — an untruth

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