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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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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: court · race · press · pound · lash · perch · kick · bay

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. press — a publisher
  3. court — for sport
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. race — humankind
  9. press — to push
  10. pound — a weight
  11. court — of law
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. court — of a king
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. race — a contest
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. pound — to hit hard

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