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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. press — to push
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. kid — to tease
  6. degree — from a university
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fall — the season
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. degree — an amount
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. degree — temperature
  22. kid — child
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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