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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. press — a publisher
  5. firm — decided
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. pound — a weight
  9. firm — steady
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. press — to push
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. hand — help
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. kid — to tease
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. firm — a company
  19. bat — the animal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. drill — a practice
  22. hand — in cards
  23. club — for dancing
  24. press — newspapers

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