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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 116 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. court — of a king
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. press — newspapers
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bark — to shout
  14. season — in sport
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. court — of law
  20. cell — in biology
  21. season — of the year
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cold — an illness
  24. court — for sport

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