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

Word bank: trunk · press · face · bear · tear · degree

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. face — to point toward
  3. tear — from crying
  4. degree — temperature
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. press — to push
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. press — a publisher
  17. face — to confront
  18. press — newspapers

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