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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: kid · cabinet · degree · press · trunk · last · foot · pound

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. last — to go on
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. kid — child
  6. last — final
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. press — newspapers
  13. pound — a weight
  14. degree — temperature
  15. last — finally
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — a measure
  18. degree — from a university
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. press — to push
  22. press — a publisher
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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