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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. wound — an injury
  4. tube — a container
  5. squash — to crush
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bear — the animal
  12. squash — the sport
  13. scale — in music
  14. press — to push
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bear — the animal
  17. scale — size or range
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — a publisher
  23. snap — to click
  24. tube — the underground

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