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

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. race — humankind
  3. kick — in football
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. press — a publisher
  7. saw — the tool
  8. press — to push
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. press — newspapers
  17. race — a contest
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. race — the arms race
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. coach — a trainer

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