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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 120 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: fall · foot · fan · trunk · racket · bat · deal · plane

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. foot — a measure
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fall — to drop
  13. deal — to handle
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. plane — a tool
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. fall — the season
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. deal — a big deal

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