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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: fall · press · kick · kid · field · squash

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. field — farmland
  3. press — newspapers
  4. press — to push
  5. field — a subject
  6. kick — in football
  7. press — a publisher
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. squash — the sport
  12. fall — to drop
  13. squash — to crush
  14. field — for sport
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kid — child
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — to tease

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