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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. press — to push
  6. file — a document
  7. kid — to tease
  8. track — a song
  9. bore — to tire
  10. press — a publisher
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bore — to drill
  15. capital — a city
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. track — to keep track
  18. capital — money
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. track — a path
  24. press — newspapers

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