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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: game · tear · lean · press · fine · kick · cell · sharp

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kick — in football
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. cell — a phone
  6. game — a match
  7. lean — to bend
  8. game — wild animals
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. sharp — clever
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — to push
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fine — all right
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. cell — in biology
  23. lean — thin
  24. fine — high quality

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