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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: degree · roll · mine · press · perch · face

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mine — for digging
  4. face — to point toward
  5. press — a publisher
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. face — to confront
  10. degree — temperature
  11. roll — a list
  12. press — to push
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  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