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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 120 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 are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. bound — obliged
  3. press — a publisher
  4. wind — moving air
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fork — in a road
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. press — newspapers
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. scale — in music
  16. press — to push
  17. kid — child
  18. rest — a break
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. bound — certain
  23. fork — to eat with
  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