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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: shower · face · current · degree · branch · press · ruler · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. face — to confront
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. press — a publisher
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. press — to push
  7. face — to point toward
  8. content — the amount
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. current — happening now
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — an amount
  13. current — electric
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. degree — from a university
  16. current — of water
  17. content — happy
  18. degree — temperature
  19. shower — rain
  20. face — part of the head
  21. shower — to wash
  22. press — newspapers
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. branch — a division

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