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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. press — to push
  3. key — in music
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. kid — to tease
  9. key — the most important part
  10. scale — in music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. pop — music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. scale — size or range
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pop — soda
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. press — newspapers
  23. saw — the tool
  24. key — for a lock

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