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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 120 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: pound · press · root · deal · chair · face · degree · dip

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. press — to push
  6. degree — an amount
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. dip — to sink
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pound — a weight
  11. root — the cause
  12. press — a publisher
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. root — of a plant
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. chair — a leader
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. root — of a word
  23. face — to confront
  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