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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. kid — child
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. kid — to tease
  8. press — to push
  9. tube — the underground
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. press — a publisher
  14. mine — for digging
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. tube — a container
  17. spring — of water
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. spring — the season
  22. kick — in football
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a committee

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