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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · track · tube · press · racket · straw · cold · present

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. track — to keep track
  7. tube — the underground
  8. press — newspapers
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. present — the time now
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. tube — a container
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. present — a gift
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. press — to push
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. track — a song
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. press — a publisher
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. present — there

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