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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. kid — child
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kid — to tease
  7. press — to push
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. band — a music group
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. press — a publisher
  21. hand — help
  22. dip — to sink
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. temple — side of the head

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