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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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Word bank
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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. scale — in music
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. tube — a container
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. branch — a division
  8. fine — high quality
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. scale — size or range
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cold — not warm
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. lean — to bend
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fine — all right
  23. tube — the underground
  24. cold — the Cold War

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