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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. rest — a break
  4. fine — high quality
  5. press — to push
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. chest — a box
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. capital — money
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. press — a publisher
  13. capital — a city
  14. rest — what's left
  15. press — newspapers
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. fine — all right
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. chest — of your body

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