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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: tube · press · fan · rash · fall · straw · band · sharp

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fall — the season
  4. rash — hasty
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. press — a publisher
  7. sharp — clever
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. press — newspapers
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fall — to drop
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. tube — a container
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rash — a series
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. band — a ring
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. fall — to drop
  23. press — to push
  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