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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. kid — child
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. drill — army training
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. press — a publisher
  11. drill — a practice
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. press — newspapers
  14. rush — hurry
  15. sharp — clever
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. press — to push
  24. kid — to tease

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