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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 124 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. root — the cause
  4. ground — a position
  5. root — of a plant
  6. press — to push
  7. ground — crushed
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. pitch — completely
  11. press — a publisher
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. field — farmland
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. kick — in football
  16. press — newspapers
  17. root — of a word
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. lie — to recline
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ground — the earth
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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