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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: root · kick · mine · club · fall · press · bear · hand

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. press — to push
  3. mine — for digging
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. press — newspapers
  9. root — of a word
  10. bear — the animal
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. club — a group
  14. kick — in football
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. hand — in cards
  18. club — for golf
  19. bear — the animal
  20. fall — the season
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. press — a publisher
  23. hand — help
  24. root — the cause

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