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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. content — happy
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. degree — from a university
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. press — a publisher
  8. bank — for money
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bank — of a river
  15. lie — to recline
  16. press — newspapers
  17. content — the amount
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. press — to push
  20. kick — in football
  21. bank — for money
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wind — moving air

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