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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kick — in football
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mark — a trace
  7. file — a tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. bank — of a river
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bank — for money
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. fall — to drop
  15. press — newspapers
  16. mark — a grade
  17. press — a publisher
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. file — a document
  20. bank — for money
  21. fall — the season
  22. press — to push
  23. file — a line of people
  24. land — a country

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