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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cold — not warm
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. press — a publisher
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. ball — a dance
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — to push
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. drill — the tool
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. drill — a practice
  22. ball — a great time
  23. key — for a lock
  24. drill — army training

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