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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: file · cell · bound · pitcher · face · cabinet · degree · hand

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bound — certain
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. file — a tool
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bound — obliged
  18. face — to confront
  19. file — a document
  20. cell — a phone
  21. hand — help
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bound — tied together

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