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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: cell · degree · lash · face · rash · press · hide · bat

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. face — part of the head
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. press — a publisher
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bat — the animal
  12. face — to confront
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. press — newspapers
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. face — to point toward
  24. press — to push

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