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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fine — high quality
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. press — a publisher
  5. spell — magic
  6. chest — a box
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — of your body
  14. press — to push
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fine — all right
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. spell — a short time
  22. press — newspapers
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. mine — an explosive

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