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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. kick — in football
  4. ball — a great time
  5. net — for catching
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bat — the animal
  8. net — in sport
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. ball — a dance
  11. root — the cause
  12. sharp — clever
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. chair — a leader
  16. net — after costs
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. press — newspapers
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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