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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · present · press · lash · march · kid

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. kid — to tease
  3. present — a gift
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. present — the time now
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. present — there
  9. press — a publisher
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. march — music
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. march — the month
  17. press — newspapers
  18. march — the month

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