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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rule — a law
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rule — government
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. press — a publisher
  11. saw — the tool
  12. degree — from a university
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chip — for betting
  15. degree — an amount
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mate — to breed
  18. chip — to eat
  19. press — newspapers
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. mate — a friend
  22. kid — child
  23. degree — temperature
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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