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

Word bank: file · lash · bay · tear · snap · wind · fan · cap

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cap — a hat
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. file — a document
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — to rip
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. snap — to click
  22. cap — a lid
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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