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

Word bank: press · kid · stick · can · degree · snap · perch · court

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. can — a tin
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. press — a publisher
  7. kid — child
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. can — to be able to
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. press — to push
  13. court — for sport
  14. degree — temperature
  15. can — a tin
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. perch — the fish
  20. kid — to tease
  21. snap — to click
  22. degree — an amount
  23. press — newspapers
  24. degree — from a university

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