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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. firm — steady
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. hand — help
  5. press — newspapers
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. file — a document
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. press — a publisher
  14. file — a tool
  15. firm — a company
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. kid — to tease
  19. firm — decided
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. band — a music group
  22. press — to push
  23. file — a line of people
  24. band — a ring

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