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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: date · lean · scale · tube · press · fan · safe · straw

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. press — to push
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. press — a publisher
  9. date — the fruit
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tube — a container
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. press — newspapers
  20. lean — thin
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tube — the underground
  24. scale — in music

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