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

Word bank: cell · tear · degree · bowl · last · rest

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — to go on
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cell — in biology
  6. degree — an amount
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rest — what's left
  9. last — final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone

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