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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · can · file · lash · wax · press · fan · spring

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. spring — of water
  3. file — a document
  4. can — a tin
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. press — a publisher
  10. spring — the season
  11. can — to be able to
  12. file — a tool
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. press — newspapers
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. can — a tin
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. file — a line of people

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