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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: tear · ball · fork · chair · rush · arm · kid · press

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fork — in a road
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. press — to push
  7. kid — child
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. press — a publisher
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a great time
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rush — hurry
  22. chair — a leader
  23. press — newspapers
  24. ball — a dance

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