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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. present — the time now
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. press — to push
  9. present — a gift
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hand — help
  12. land — to come down
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. press — a publisher
  15. land — ground
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. present — there
  18. land — a country
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. press — newspapers

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