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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: court · kid · calf · rash · press · deal · snap · chest

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. court — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kid — child
  5. press — to push
  6. snap — to click
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. press — a publisher
  10. chest — of your body
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. chest — a box
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. kid — to tease
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. rash — hasty
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. press — newspapers
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. calf — a young animal

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