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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: bulb · press · net · hide · craft · straw · kid · tear

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. press — a publisher
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — child
  7. tear — from crying
  8. net — after costs
  9. bulb — for light
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. press — to push
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. kid — to tease
  16. net — in sport
  17. craft — boats
  18. press — newspapers
  19. tear — to rip
  20. net — for catching
  21. craft — a skill
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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