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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 ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. kid — to tease
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. tube — a container
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. tube — the underground
  11. press — to push
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. craft — a skill
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. wound — an injury
  19. craft — boats
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. kid — child
  23. last — final
  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