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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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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: shower · safe · cell · file · craft · degree

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. cell — a phone
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cell — in biology
  5. shower — rain
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — boats
  8. degree — from a university
  9. file — a tool
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. degree — temperature
  12. craft — a skill
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. file — a document
  16. shower — to wash
  17. degree — an amount
  18. safe — a strongbox

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