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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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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. press — to push
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pit — in a race
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. press — a publisher
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. content — happy
  23. wind — moving air
  24. content — the amount

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