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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: bound · press · lie · fall · hide · file · pitch · fan

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bound — tied together
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fall — the season
  5. press — to push
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. fall — to drop
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bound — certain
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. file — a tool
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. press — newspapers
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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