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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. press — newspapers
  5. kick — in football
  6. press — to push
  7. pit — in a race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pit — a hole
  10. craft — a skill
  11. pop — soda
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. tear — to rip
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. craft — boats
  16. game — a match
  17. tear — from crying
  18. game — wild animals
  19. press — a publisher
  20. pop — music
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. kick — with a leg

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