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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: kid · bowl · drill · mine · arm · press · snap · plane

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. plane — a tool
  4. drill — the tool
  5. press — a publisher
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. press — newspapers
  9. kid — child
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. kid — to tease
  15. press — to push
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to click
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. arm — a part of something

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