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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. present — a gift
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. march — music
  7. rock — music
  8. club — a group
  9. cell — a phone
  10. press — to push
  11. march — the month
  12. face — part of the head
  13. present — the time now
  14. kick — in football
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. press — newspapers
  17. cell — in biology
  18. face — to confront
  19. march — the month
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. face — to point toward
  22. rock — a stone
  23. present — there
  24. club — for golf

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