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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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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 · degree · march · lean · present · rash · mouse · cell

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cell — in biology
  4. rash — a series
  5. lean — to bend
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. lean — thin
  9. present — the time now
  10. degree — temperature
  11. face — part of the head
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. face — to point toward
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cell — a phone
  16. march — music
  17. present — there
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. face — to confront
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. march — the month
  24. present — a gift

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