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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. court — of law
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — for sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. net — for catching
  7. season — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. press — a publisher
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. kick — in football
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. perch — the fish
  15. press — newspapers
  16. court — of a king
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. game — a match
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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