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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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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 · firm · press · drill · tube · file · bat · chest

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chest — a box
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. drill — a practice
  8. chest — of your body
  9. firm — decided
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. chest — of your body
  14. drill — the tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. drill — army training
  19. tube — a container
  20. press — to push
  21. firm — steady
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. firm — a company
  24. fan — a supporter

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