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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. tear — from crying
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. squash — the sport
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. tear — from crying
  9. press — to push
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. tear — to rip
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. press — newspapers
  15. kid — to tease
  16. squash — to crush
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. content — happy
  20. press — a publisher
  21. sharp — clever
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. kid — child
  24. content — the amount

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