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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · bat · press · snap · lie · hide · fan · dip

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — the animal
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. dip — to sink
  6. press — to push
  7. snap — to click
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. press — newspapers
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. chest — a box
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. lie — to recline
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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