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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 116 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: hide · file · press · fan · content · cold · kick · ruler

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. press — to push
  4. file — a line of people
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. press — a publisher
  12. content — the amount
  13. kick — in football
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. content — happy
  16. press — newspapers
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. hide — to keep secret

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