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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stand · scale · face · capital · court · object · degree · press

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. press — a publisher
  3. scale — size or range
  4. court — of law
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. object — a thing
  8. press — to push
  9. stand — to bear
  10. face — to point toward
  11. capital — a city
  12. object — to protest
  13. court — of a king
  14. face — to confront
  15. degree — from a university
  16. scale — in music
  17. object — an aim
  18. degree — an amount
  19. face — part of the head
  20. court — for sport
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. press — newspapers
  23. degree — temperature
  24. stand — for spectators

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