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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. lean — thin
  4. cap — a lid
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. press — to push
  7. chest — a box
  8. swing — music
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. press — a publisher
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. swing — to play on
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chest — of your body
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. mine — for digging

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