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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 · stem · present · sharp · march · bat · hand · deal

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. march — music
  5. present — a gift
  6. march — the month
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. hand — in cards
  10. march — the month
  11. hand — help
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. present — there
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — clever
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. bat — the animal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. present — the time now
  24. bat — in an idiom

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