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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: fan · rest · perch · snap · tube · cold · calf · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. file — a document
  3. tube — a container
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rest — a break
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rest — what's left
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — an illness
  12. snap — to click
  13. perch — the fish
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rest — what's left
  20. file — a tool
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. tube — in a tire

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