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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: bat · race · dip · racket · bound · press · kid · saw

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. bound — tied together
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bound — obliged
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. saw — the tool
  7. race — a contest
  8. press — a publisher
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. press — to push
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bat — the animal
  17. race — the arms race
  18. dip — to sink
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. race — humankind
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. press — newspapers
  23. kid — child
  24. racket — for tennis

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