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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.

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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 · kick · craft · object · cold · safe · pop · fall

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. craft — a skill
  4. press — newspapers
  5. fall — to drop
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fall — to drop
  11. object — an aim
  12. pop — soda
  13. object — a thing
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. press — to push
  17. press — a publisher
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. craft — boats
  20. object — to protest
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fall — the season
  24. kick — in football

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