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

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. scale — size or range
  4. press — to push
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — soda
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pop — to visit
  15. press — a publisher
  16. bound — tied together
  17. scale — in music
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. present — there
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. kid — to tease
  24. present — the time now

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