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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: press · club · jam · pitch · kick · cold

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. press — newspapers
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. kick — in football
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — a group
  14. cold — not warm
  15. club — for golf
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kick — a thrill

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