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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: lean · kick · staff · calf · temple · content · band · press

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. staff — employees
  5. content — happy
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. staff — employees
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. band — a ring
  16. lean — thin
  17. band — a music group
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. press — newspapers
  20. staff — a stick
  21. kick — in football
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. calf — a young animal

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