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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: mine · leaves · kick · court · land · net · press · firm

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. firm — steady
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. press — a publisher
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. mine — for digging
  10. net — for catching
  11. press — to push
  12. press — newspapers
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. net — after costs
  15. firm — a company
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. net — in sport
  21. firm — decided
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. court — of law

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