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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · chair · wound · press · kick · last

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. press — a publisher
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. last — finally
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. press — to push
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — to go on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — final
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. kick — in football
  18. press — newspapers

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