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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bat — the animal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. press — to push
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bore — to tire
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — a publisher
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bore — to drill
  11. race — the arms race
  12. content — the amount
  13. race — a contest
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. kid — child
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. content — happy
  18. race — humankind
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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