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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. prune — to trim
  3. deal — to handle
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. press — to push
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bound — tied together
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. bound — certain
  16. fork — in a road
  17. rest — what's left
  18. press — newspapers
  19. kid — child
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. kid — to tease
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bound — obliged

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