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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. court — of a king
  3. press — a publisher
  4. court — of law
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. net — after costs
  7. field — farmland
  8. kick — in football
  9. court — for sport
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. press — to push
  16. mine — for digging
  17. net — in sport
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. press — newspapers
  20. net — for catching
  21. field — a subject
  22. lie — to recline
  23. hand — help
  24. field — for sport

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