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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 · lash · press · deal · firm · swing · cold · bear

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. press — a publisher
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kid — to tease
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. kid — child
  9. press — newspapers
  10. swing — in golf
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. press — to push
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — an illness
  18. firm — a company
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bear — the animal
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. firm — steady
  24. swing — music

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