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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: kick · chest · snap · press · court · pass

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. press — a publisher
  3. court — for sport
  4. chest — of your body
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. chest — a box
  11. court — of a king
  12. press — newspapers
  13. court — of law
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — a permit
  17. chest — of your body
  18. press — to push

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