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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: last · firm · dip · cell · saw · face · hand · degree

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. last — to go on
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. firm — a company
  7. hand — help
  8. face — part of the head
  9. degree — an amount
  10. firm — steady
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. last — final
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. last — finally
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. dip — to sink
  21. saw — the tool
  22. firm — decided
  23. hand — in cards
  24. degree — from a university

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