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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. net — after costs
  7. press — newspapers
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. squash — the sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. pitch — completely
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. field — for sport
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. net — for catching
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. net — in sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. kick — in football
  23. field — farmland
  24. press — to push

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