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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chest — a box
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. kid — to tease
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tear — to rip
  13. rash — a series
  14. press — a publisher
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. spell — letters
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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