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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 · pitcher · racket · snap · wake · chest · lean · tear

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lean — to bend
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lean — thin
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. snap — to click
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. lean — to rest against

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