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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: mug · fan · foot · row · stand · hand · tube · spell

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. spell — letters
  5. mug — a cup
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mug — a face
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stand — to bear
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mug — to rob
  19. tube — a container
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. row — to paddle
  24. spell — magic

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