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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: press · fork · kid · rash · band · snap · bear · club

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. press — to push
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. snap — to click
  6. band — a ring
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. press — a publisher
  11. kid — to tease
  12. band — a music group
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. club — a group
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bear — the animal
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. club — for dancing
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bear — the animal
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. club — for golf

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