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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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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. kick — in football
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. ball — a dance
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. press — newspapers
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. ball — a great time
  14. press — to push
  15. pit — in a race
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cold — not warm
  20. root — the cause
  21. chest — a box
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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