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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. face — to confront
  3. firm — decided
  4. mark — a trace
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — to crush
  7. firm — a company
  8. degree — temperature
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a grade
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. chip — to eat
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. firm — steady
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chip — for betting
  20. press — newspapers
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. face — to point toward

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