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

Word bank: fall · kick · can · date · fan · cold · bay · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. chest — a box
  2. fall — the season
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cold — not warm
  6. can — a tin
  7. kick — in football
  8. cold — an illness
  9. can — a tin
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. fall — to drop
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. chest — of your body
  22. can — to be able to
  23. kick — a thrill
  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