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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 120 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: drill · spell · face · cell · sharp · spring · straw · degree

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cell — in biology
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. face — to confront
  7. spring — a coil
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. degree — from a university
  11. sharp — clever
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cell — a phone
  14. spring — of water
  15. spell — magic
  16. degree — an amount
  17. drill — a practice
  18. spring — the season
  19. spell — letters
  20. drill — army training
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. degree — temperature

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