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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kid — child
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pop — music
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mate — a friend
  7. degree — from a university
  8. mate — to breed
  9. present — the time now
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mate — a partner
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pop — to visit
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pop — soda
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — an amount
  19. prune — to trim
  20. degree — temperature
  21. prune — to trim
  22. present — a gift
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. present — there

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