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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · face · press · degree · chip · fan · row · rush

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — a phone
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cell — in biology
  12. press — to push
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. face — to confront
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chip — to eat
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chip — for betting
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. cell — in a prison

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