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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · cold · present · lash · spring · degree · face · band

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. face — part of the head
  5. present — the time now
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. face — to confront
  10. band — a ring
  11. present — there
  12. present — a gift
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. face — to point toward
  15. band — a music group
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. spring — the season
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. lash — to lash out

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