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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: face · staff · bowl · shower · suit · spell · hand · degree

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. staff — a stick
  3. spell — a short time
  4. face — to confront
  5. hand — in cards
  6. face — part of the head
  7. spell — letters
  8. degree — an amount
  9. suit — clothes
  10. staff — employees
  11. spell — magic
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. suit — in cards
  14. staff — employees
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. hand — help
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. suit — to fit
  20. face — to point toward
  21. shower — rain
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bowl — a football final

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