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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. press — to push
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. press — newspapers
  6. deal — to handle
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. degree — an amount
  15. shower — to wash
  16. face — to confront
  17. shower — rain
  18. kick — in football
  19. degree — temperature
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. face — to point toward
  22. present — the time now
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. press — a publisher

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