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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. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. press — newspapers
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. field — a subject
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. press — a publisher
  7. race — a contest
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. wake — a trail
  11. kid — child
  12. kick — in football
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — the season
  17. race — humankind
  18. field — for sport
  19. race — the arms race
  20. field — farmland
  21. lie — to recline
  22. kid — to tease
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kick — a thrill

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