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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: press · tube · kid · straw · object · hand · rest · last

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rest — what's left
  3. last — finally
  4. press — newspapers
  5. kid — child
  6. rest — a break
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. hand — help
  10. last — final
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. last — to go on
  14. rest — what's left
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. tube — the underground
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. tube — a container
  24. straw — a straw man

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