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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · calf · rule · pitcher · patient · press · net · kick

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. rule — a law
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. press — to push
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. press — newspapers
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. net — in sport
  23. straw — a straw man
  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