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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: court · toast · pass · shower · face · press · degree · chip

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. toast — bread
  3. court — of law
  4. court — of a king
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. face — part of the head
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. press — a publisher
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. shower — rain
  14. face — to confront
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. court — for sport
  18. face — to point toward
  19. pass — a permit
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. press — newspapers
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — to eat
  24. press — to push

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