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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.

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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. degree — an amount
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. degree — from a university
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bank — for money
  14. squash — the sport
  15. face — to point toward
  16. game — wild animals
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bank — for money
  19. degree — temperature
  20. face — part of the head
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. face — to confront
  24. game — a match

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