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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kid — child
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. press — newspapers
  7. cell — in biology
  8. drill — army training
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hand — help
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. press — a publisher
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. cell — a phone
  16. drill — the tool
  17. kick — in football
  18. field — for sport
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. drill — a practice
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. hand — in cards
  24. press — to push

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