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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 116 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: nail · face · straw · rule · press · degree · kick · pitcher

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — government
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rule — a law
  6. face — to point toward
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. press — to push
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. press — newspapers
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. face — part of the head
  22. press — a publisher
  23. kick — in football
  24. face — to confront

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