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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. last — finally
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ground — crushed
  7. press — to push
  8. ground — the earth
  9. swing — in golf
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. ground — a position
  16. swing — music
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kick — in football
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wind — moving air
  24. tube — a container

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