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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rash — a series
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. press — a publisher
  9. plane — a tool
  10. rash — hasty
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. press — newspapers
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. game — a match
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rash — on the skin
  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