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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: cell · shower · toast · degree · firm · face

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cell — a phone
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. cell — in biology
  5. face — to confront
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. face — part of the head
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. degree — from a university
  11. firm — steady
  12. toast — bread
  13. shower — to wash
  14. firm — decided
  15. face — to point toward
  16. degree — temperature
  17. shower — rain
  18. firm — a company

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