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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kid — child
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — to tease
  7. press — to push
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. tear — to rip
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. press — newspapers
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. tear — from crying
  18. press — a publisher
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. band — a music group
  22. tear — from crying
  23. band — a ring
  24. deal — to handle

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