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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 120 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: ground · ball · clip · present · press · hand · kick · rule

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. ground — crushed
  6. press — a publisher
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. clip — a video
  10. present — a gift
  11. ground — a position
  12. rule — a law
  13. clip — to cut
  14. press — newspapers
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ball — a dance
  18. press — to push
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ball — a great time
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — for paper
  23. hand — help
  24. rule — government

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