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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: fan · rock · pop · saw · chest · staff · file · bowl

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. file — a document
  7. staff — employees
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. staff — a stick
  11. chest — a box
  12. pop — music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. file — a tool
  15. rock — music
  16. file — a line of people
  17. staff — employees
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. fan — to cool the air

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