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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 116 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 · sharp · dip · stock · wake · kid · kick · bat

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bat — the animal
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. kick — in football
  7. wake — a trail
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stock — goods
  16. dip — to sink
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. stock — shares
  24. kid — child

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