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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. degree — from a university
  4. perch — the fish
  5. press — newspapers
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chest — a box
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. press — a publisher
  10. pop — soda
  11. kick — in football
  12. degree — temperature
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bank — for money
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bank — of a river
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pop — music
  22. bank — for money
  23. pop — to visit
  24. press — to push

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