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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: hand · dip · tear · kid · snap · drill · bat · press

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. dip — to sink
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tear — from crying
  8. press — to push
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. drill — the tool
  11. hand — help
  12. kid — child
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. kid — to tease
  15. tear — to rip
  16. drill — army training
  17. bat — the animal
  18. drill — a practice
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — newspapers
  22. snap — to click
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. dip — to dunk

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