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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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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: bank · kid · bat · rest · fan · land · stand · deal

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bank — of a river
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. land — ground
  13. land — to come down
  14. bank — for money
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bank — for money
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. land — a country
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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