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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. press — newspapers
  4. last — finally
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cold — an illness
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. press — to push
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cold — not warm
  12. press — a publisher
  13. game — a match
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. kid — child
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. kid — to tease
  18. last — final
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. shower — rain
  21. last — to go on
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. shower — to wash
  24. game — wild animals

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