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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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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: cold · press · kid · rush · calf · hide · pound · degree

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. kid — to tease
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. kid — child
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. press — a publisher
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. degree — temperature
  24. press — to push

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