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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: fan · roll · face · degree · ground · press · kid · scale

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. press — newspapers
  4. ground — a position
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ground — the earth
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — in music
  9. face — part of the head
  10. degree — an amount
  11. face — to confront
  12. degree — temperature
  13. press — a publisher
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. kid — to tease
  16. roll — a cake
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kid — child
  19. ground — crushed
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. roll — a list
  22. press — to push
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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