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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: mark · dip · press · saw · bay · kid · cold · roll

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. press — a publisher
  5. roll — a list
  6. dip — to sink
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. roll — a cake
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. press — to push
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. mark — a trace
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. mark — a grade
  22. kid — child
  23. press — newspapers
  24. cold — an illness

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