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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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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 · rock · bound · press · tube · bark · cabinet · hand

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hand — help
  3. bark — to shout
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rock — music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tube — a container
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. hand — in cards
  12. kid — child
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — to push
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bound — certain
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. press — newspapers

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