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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 · bark · cold · pit · net · wind · hand · press

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hand — help
  4. net — for catching
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cold — an illness
  7. press — to push
  8. net — in sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pit — in a race
  14. net — after costs
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. pit — a hole
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. kick — in football
  24. press — a publisher

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