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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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Word bank
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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. net — in sport
  3. content — the amount
  4. bark — to shout
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — in football
  11. net — after costs
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. press — to push
  14. net — for catching
  15. content — happy
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. press — newspapers
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. press — a publisher
  22. kid — child
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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