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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · straw · press · shower · degree · rule

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. rule — government
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. press — newspapers
  5. degree — temperature
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. face — to confront
  9. press — a publisher
  10. shower — rain
  11. rule — a law
  12. shower — to wash
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. face — part of the head
  17. degree — an amount
  18. press — to push

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