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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 · cold · hand · bowl · jam · chip · press · spell

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spell — letters
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. spell — a short time
  9. hand — help
  10. chip — for betting
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. kid — child
  13. press — newspapers
  14. chip — to eat
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spell — magic
  23. press — to push
  24. jam — in traffic

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