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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. band — a ring
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. object — a thing
  6. dip — to sink
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bore — to tire
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. press — newspapers
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. object — an aim
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. band — a music group
  17. bore — to drill
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. wake — a trail
  22. spring — of water
  23. object — to protest
  24. press — to push

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