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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cold — an illness
  7. key — the most important part
  8. press — newspapers
  9. present — there
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kid — child
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. present — a gift
  15. key — in music
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. key — for a lock
  19. press — a publisher
  20. squash — the sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. press — to push
  23. kid — to tease
  24. squash — to crush

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