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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: stem · cold · degree · key · face · chest · spring · bank

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. degree — temperature
  3. spring — of water
  4. chest — of your body
  5. key — for a lock
  6. face — part of the head
  7. chest — a box
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bank — for money
  11. face — to point toward
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spring — the season
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stem — to come from
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — in music
  23. face — to confront
  24. stem — a stem cell

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