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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. content — happy
  5. cue — for pool
  6. press — newspapers
  7. content — the amount
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. root — of a word
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cue — a signal
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. kick — in football
  23. root — the cause
  24. press — a publisher

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