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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: straw · fall · kid · degree · mate · hide · press · perch

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mate — to breed
  5. degree — temperature
  6. perch — the fish
  7. press — newspapers
  8. fall — the season
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mate — a friend
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fall — to drop
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. press — a publisher
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. degree — an amount
  19. press — to push
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mate — a partner
  24. fall — to drop

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