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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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Word bank
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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: band · arm · spell · sharp · press · kid · kick · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kick — in football
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spell — letters
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. press — a publisher
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a ring
  13. kid — to tease
  14. press — to push
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. band — a music group
  18. spell — a short time
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. press — newspapers
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — child
  24. snap — to click

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