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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: lash · lie · swing · kick · field · chair · press · straw

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. swing — music
  4. press — a publisher
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. press — newspapers
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. swing — to play on
  9. press — to push
  10. chair — a leader
  11. swing — in golf
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. field — for sport
  16. kick — in football
  17. field — farmland
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. field — a subject
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. lash — to lash out

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