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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: face · stick · wake · wave · chip · hand · degree · press

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. chip — to eat
  5. press — a publisher
  6. chip — for betting
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wake — a trail
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. press — newspapers
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. face — to confront
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. face — to point toward
  19. press — to push
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. chip — in a computer

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