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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. kid — child
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — newspapers
  5. cap — a hat
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kick — in football
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. degree — from a university
  21. press — to push
  22. pop — soda
  23. degree — an amount
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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