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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. press — a publisher
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. press — to push
  6. kick — in football
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. degree — temperature
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. degree — an amount
  13. press — newspapers
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. hide — to keep secret

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