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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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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: kid · press · hide · wound · court · degree · current · cue

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. wound — an injury
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — an amount
  5. press — a publisher
  6. degree — from a university
  7. court — of law
  8. current — happening now
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wound — an injury
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cue — a signal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. current — electric
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. press — to push
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — for pool
  20. court — of a king
  21. kid — child
  22. degree — temperature
  23. current — of water
  24. press — newspapers

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