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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: kid · net · court · hand · hide · arm · tear · press

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. press — to push
  5. tear — from crying
  6. hand — in cards
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. press — a publisher
  9. hand — help
  10. kid — child
  11. press — newspapers
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. net — in sport
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. net — after costs
  19. court — for sport
  20. kid — to tease
  21. court — of a king
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. net — for catching
  24. court — of law

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