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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.

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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: wind · kick · press · ball · lie · bank · kid · wake

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bank — for money
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bank — for money
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ball — a dance
  9. kid — child
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bank — of a river
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. press — newspapers
  20. kick — in football
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lie — to recline
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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