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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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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: lean · degree · firm · press · trunk · straw · face · snap

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. degree — temperature
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. face — to point toward
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. firm — steady
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. firm — a company
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. face — part of the head
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. lean — to bend
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. degree — an amount
  19. lean — thin
  20. press — to push
  21. face — to confront
  22. firm — decided
  23. press — newspapers
  24. degree — from a university

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