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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. drill — army training
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. hand — help
  8. drill — the tool
  9. press — a publisher
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. prune — to trim
  13. press — to push
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fine — all right
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. drill — a practice
  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