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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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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: kick · court · press · bound · chip · net · kid · field

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. field — a subject
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. press — a publisher
  9. net — after costs
  10. field — farmland
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. bound — certain
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. field — for sport
  16. chip — for betting
  17. kick — in football
  18. kid — child
  19. press — newspapers
  20. net — in sport
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chip — to eat
  23. court — for sport
  24. press — to push

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