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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 116 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: tube · spell · bark · band · nail · face · degree · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. spell — letters
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. press — newspapers
  5. spell — a short time
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. band — a ring
  8. degree — from a university
  9. band — a music group
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. press — a publisher
  14. spell — magic
  15. degree — temperature
  16. face — to point toward
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. face — to confront
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tube — a container
  21. bark — to shout
  22. tube — the underground
  23. degree — an amount
  24. face — part of the head

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