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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. present — a gift
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. press — newspapers
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. press — to push
  9. press — a publisher
  10. present — the time now
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. degree — an amount
  14. kick — in football
  15. degree — from a university
  16. present — there
  17. race — humankind
  18. wake — a trail

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