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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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 · staff · lash · ball · kick · cold · field · hide

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. staff — employees
  3. field — a subject
  4. press — a publisher
  5. field — for sport
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kick — in football
  10. staff — employees
  11. field — farmland
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. press — to push
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. cold — an illness
  23. press — newspapers
  24. ball — a great time

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