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

Word bank: band · fan · press · hide · bat · kick · safe · row

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. press — a publisher
  4. kick — in football
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. press — to push
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. press — newspapers
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bat — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. band — a ring
  24. row — a line

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