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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · kick · press · stick · band · degree

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pop — music
  3. band — a music group
  4. pop — to visit
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. press — a publisher
  7. band — a ring
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. press — to push
  10. kick — in football
  11. degree — temperature
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. pop — soda
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. press — newspapers

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