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

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. bank — of a river
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stock — shares
  7. bank — for money
  8. stock — goods
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bank — for money
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. tube — a container
  16. press — to push
  17. bat — the animal
  18. tube — the underground
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. press — a publisher
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. stock — a soup base

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