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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. degree — temperature
  7. press — newspapers
  8. tube — a container
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. tube — the underground
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. stem — to come from
  15. press — a publisher
  16. face — part of the head
  17. press — to push
  18. squash — to crush
  19. chair — a leader
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. lie — to recline
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lie — an untruth

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