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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: fan · bat · cap · sharp · row · pass · hand · march

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. hand — help
  5. pass — a permit
  6. sharp — clever
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — a hat
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. hand — in cards
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bat — the animal
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cap — of ice
  21. march — music
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fan — to cool the air

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