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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 · deal · chest · ground · kick · racket

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chest — of your body
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. press — newspapers
  18. deal — to handle

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