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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. degree — an amount
  3. face — part of the head
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rule — a law
  6. branch — a division
  7. face — to confront
  8. fork — in a road
  9. press — to push
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. degree — from a university
  12. face — to point toward
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. chest — of your body
  22. degree — temperature
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. rule — government

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