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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: press · kick · rush · season · deal · mine · lean · chest

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lean — thin
  5. deal — to handle
  6. kick — in football
  7. mine — for digging
  8. press — a publisher
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. press — to push
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chest — a box
  14. season — in sport
  15. lean — to bend
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. chest — of your body
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. press — newspapers
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. season — of the year
  24. rush — hurry

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