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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — an amount
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — a company
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. mate — to breed
  8. press — newspapers
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mate — a friend
  12. press — a publisher
  13. firm — decided
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pop — to visit
  16. press — to push
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pop — music
  19. mate — a partner
  20. face — part of the head
  21. degree — from a university
  22. face — to point toward
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. pop — soda

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