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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. kid — to tease
  3. net — after costs
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. net — in sport
  6. lean — to bend
  7. row — a line
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. press — newspapers
  10. lean — thin
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. net — for catching
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. press — a publisher
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. kid — child
  22. kick — in football
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. nail — for a hammer

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