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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: tear · sharp · cell · fan · tube · hide · chest · season

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. tear — from crying
  3. season — of the year
  4. chest — of your body
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. tube — a container
  8. chest — of your body
  9. tear — from crying
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cell — a phone
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. season — in sport
  17. chest — a box
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. tube — the underground
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. sharp — with an edge

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