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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 124 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 · cold · row · calf · branch · press · lean · mine

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. calf — of the leg
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. press — newspapers
  11. row — to paddle
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cold — not warm
  14. row — a line
  15. lean — thin
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. press — a publisher
  18. mine — for digging
  19. press — to push
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — a division
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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