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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: face · wind · stand · bat · bound · lash · fan · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bound — obliged
  13. hand — help
  14. stand — to bear
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bat — the animal
  20. face — part of the head
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. hand — in cards

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