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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 116 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: nail · row · fan · bear · tear · hand · bat · chair

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bat — the animal
  11. hand — in cards
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. hand — help
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. row — a line
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bear — the animal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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