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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: straw · cold · safe · kick · dip · press · stand · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. press — to push
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. press — newspapers
  10. kick — in football
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stand — to bear
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. press — a publisher
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cold — an illness
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. cold — not warm
  24. dip — to sink

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