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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.

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: lean · cold · dip · pass · pit · fan · tube · saw

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. tube — the underground
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. dip — to sink
  17. lean — to bend
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pass — a permit
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. lean — thin
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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