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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. press — to push
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. race — the arms race
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. branch — a division
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. press — newspapers
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. race — a contest
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. kid — child
  18. press — a publisher
  19. race — humankind
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. branch — of a tree

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