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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. ground — a position
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. field — farmland
  8. ground — the earth
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. field — for sport
  11. can — a tin
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wound — an injury
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wound — an injury
  18. game — a match
  19. field — a subject
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kick — in football

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