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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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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: arm · bore · band · snap · press · calf · kid · ruler

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. band — a ring
  3. press — to push
  4. bore — to drill
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. snap — to click
  7. kid — child
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bore — to tire
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. press — newspapers
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. band — a music group
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. band — a rubber band

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