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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 120 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: coach · press · net · key · spell · kid · tear · snap

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kid — child
  4. spell — a short time
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. snap — to click
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. net — for catching
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. net — after costs
  20. key — the most important part
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. kid — to tease
  23. press — newspapers
  24. net — in sport

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