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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 116 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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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: scale · kid · net · ruler · cold · kick · bear · press

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. kid — to tease
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. net — in sport
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. kick — in football
  15. press — to push
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bear — the animal
  24. kid — child

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