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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 · degree · kick · content · cold · band · court · craft

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. press — newspapers
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — in football
  5. craft — boats
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cold — not warm
  8. band — a music group
  9. court — of a king
  10. press — a publisher
  11. court — of law
  12. cold — an illness
  13. craft — a skill
  14. content — the amount
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. content — happy
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. press — to push
  23. band — a ring
  24. court — for sport

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