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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: board · press · content · kick · band · calf · straw · kid

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. press — to push
  3. kid — to tease
  4. content — happy
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. content — the amount
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. press — newspapers
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. band — a music group
  13. board — a committee
  14. kick — in football
  15. board — to get on
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. band — a ring
  19. press — a publisher
  20. kid — child
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. calf — of the 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