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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 116 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: kid · can · degree · pound · nail · bay · press · fall

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. can — a tin
  5. fall — to drop
  6. degree — an amount
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. degree — from a university
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. can — a tin
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. can — to be able to
  17. press — newspapers
  18. kid — to tease
  19. press — a publisher
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. kid — child
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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