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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. ground — the earth
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kick — in football
  9. press — newspapers
  10. bank — of a river
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. press — to push
  13. bank — for money
  14. clip — a video
  15. press — a publisher
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ground — a position
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bank — for money
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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