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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: face · straw · press · shower · degree · rule · kid · content

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. degree — from a university
  3. shower — rain
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. degree — an amount
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. press — to push
  10. press — newspapers
  11. rule — a law
  12. content — the amount
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. kid — child
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. degree — temperature
  19. content — happy
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rule — government
  22. face — part of the head
  23. kid — to tease
  24. press — a publisher

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