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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. squash — to crush
  3. root — of a plant
  4. club — for golf
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. root — the cause
  7. club — a group
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. race — humankind
  10. press — to push
  11. kick — in football
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. degree — an amount
  15. club — for dancing
  16. race — the arms race
  17. root — of a word
  18. race — a contest
  19. press — newspapers
  20. squash — the sport
  21. press — a publisher
  22. degree — from a university
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. degree — temperature

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