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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: content · face · pass · craft · degree · press · march · foot

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. content — the amount
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. craft — a skill
  7. degree — from a university
  8. craft — boats
  9. march — the month
  10. face — to point toward
  11. foot — a measure
  12. face — to confront
  13. degree — an amount
  14. content — happy
  15. press — to push
  16. march — the month
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. degree — temperature
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. face — part of the head
  22. march — music
  23. pass — a permit
  24. press — newspapers

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