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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.

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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: rest · fan · craft · chest · bear · press · cold · chip

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — to eat
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rest — what's left
  22. craft — boats
  23. rest — a break
  24. press — to push

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