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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. snap — to click
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tube — a container
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. file — a document
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tube — the underground
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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