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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. press — to push
  3. present — a gift
  4. degree — from a university
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. kid — child
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. kid — to tease
  13. press — a publisher
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. present — the time now
  16. degree — temperature
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. present — there
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. degree — an amount
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. press — newspapers
  24. calf — a young animal

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