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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cap — a lid
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cap — of ice
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chest — of your body
  13. press — to push
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. chest — a box

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