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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mark — a grade
  6. ball — a dance
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. club — a group
  9. cold — an illness
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mark — a trace
  12. press — to push
  13. press — a publisher
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. club — for dancing
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. club — for golf
  19. stem — to come from
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. press — newspapers

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