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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 120 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. court — for sport
  3. press — a publisher
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tube — a container
  7. press — to push
  8. press — newspapers
  9. current — electric
  10. tube — the underground
  11. court — of a king
  12. current — of water
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. degree — from a university
  18. current — happening now
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — all right
  21. face — to confront
  22. court — of law
  23. face — part of the head
  24. degree — temperature

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