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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. cold — not warm
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. press — a publisher
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. craft — boats
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. pound — a weight
  17. press — to push
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. craft — a skill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. snap — to click
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bore — to drill

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