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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 116 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. press — to push
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. court — of law
  10. tear — from crying
  11. court — for sport
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. court — of a king
  18. chip — for betting
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chip — to eat
  21. press — newspapers
  22. kid — to tease
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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