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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. degree — an amount
  5. face — part of the head
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. degree — temperature
  8. stock — goods
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stock — shares
  11. bank — for money
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. face — to confront
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. face — to point toward
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. dip — to sink

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