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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: row · press · cold · mark · tube · stick · wind · fan

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cold — not warm
  6. row — a line
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. press — newspapers
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. tube — a container
  12. press — a publisher
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. row — to paddle
  22. press — to push
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mark — a trace

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