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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mug — a cup
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mug — a face
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. face — part of the head
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. face — to confront
  11. tear — from crying
  12. root — the cause
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mug — to rob
  15. root — of a word
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rush — hurry
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. face — to point toward
  22. tear — from crying
  23. press — to push
  24. cold — an illness

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