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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. press — to push
  3. kick — in football
  4. drill — the tool
  5. kid — child
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. capital — money
  8. wind — moving air
  9. capital — a city
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. press — a publisher
  14. kid — to tease
  15. press — newspapers
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. drill — army training

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