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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. field — for sport
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. press — a publisher
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. field — a subject
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. press — newspapers
  14. lie — to recline
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. net — for catching
  19. kick — in football
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bear — the animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. tube — a container
  24. press — to push

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