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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: board · degree · face · land · track · bass · patient · press

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. press — a publisher
  3. face — part of the head
  4. degree — from a university
  5. land — a country
  6. track — to keep track
  7. board — a committee
  8. degree — temperature
  9. track — a song
  10. face — to point toward
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. track — a path
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. press — newspapers
  16. face — to confront
  17. bass — the fish
  18. degree — an amount
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bass — low music
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. press — to push
  23. board — to get on
  24. bass — the instrument

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