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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 · staff · press · present · swing · degree

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — an amount
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. staff — employees
  7. swing — in golf
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. press — to push
  11. present — there
  12. staff — a stick
  13. degree — from a university
  14. press — newspapers
  15. face — part of the head
  16. degree — temperature
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now

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