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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: scale · deal · kick · press · tear · game · stick · staff

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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 — a publisher
  2. press — newspapers
  3. tear — to rip
  4. staff — a stick
  5. kick — in football
  6. game — a match
  7. tear — from crying
  8. deal — to handle
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. staff — employees
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. press — to push
  18. scale — in music
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. staff — employees
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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