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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. last — finally
  3. wound — an injury
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ground — a position
  7. wound — an injury
  8. season — in sport
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. press — newspapers
  11. season — of the year
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. ground — crushed
  15. press — to push
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. last — final
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. last — to go on
  24. ground — the earth

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