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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. current — happening now
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. press — to push
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. press — newspapers
  10. degree — from a university
  11. current — electric
  12. branch — a division
  13. degree — an amount
  14. press — a publisher
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — temperature
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. current — of water
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. perch — the fish

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