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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. kick — in football
  4. field — farmland
  5. race — a contest
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — for sport
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — a subject
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — to push
  17. wind — moving air
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. press — a publisher
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — humankind
  24. wound — an injury

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