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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. current — happening now
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. row — a line
  6. current — electric
  7. degree — temperature
  8. current — of water
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wax — to grow
  11. press — to push
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. press — newspapers
  15. degree — from a university
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. capital — a city
  19. stand — to bear
  20. capital — money
  21. press — a publisher
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. row — to paddle

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