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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — child
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. game — a match
  6. craft — a skill
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. kid — to tease
  11. craft — boats
  12. snap — to click
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. pound — a weight
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. press — a publisher

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