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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 120 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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Word bank
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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. saw — the tool
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. field — for sport
  7. kick — in football
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bore — to tire
  12. field — farmland
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to drill
  15. press — newspapers
  16. sharp — clever
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. saw — the tool
  21. field — a subject
  22. game — a match
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. game — wild animals

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