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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pound — a weight
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. clip — a video
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. sharp — clever
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. clip — to cut
  13. kick — in football
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bear — the animal
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. press — newspapers
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mug — a face

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