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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: kid · tube · arm · cold · mate · deal · press · tear

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. mate — a partner
  3. press — newspapers
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mate — to breed
  7. tube — a container
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. mate — a friend
  10. press — a publisher
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — an illness
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. press — to push
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tear — from crying
  19. kid — to tease
  20. deal — to handle
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — child
  23. arm — a part of something
  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