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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: cell · face · bank · arm · object · shower · deal · degree

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. object — to protest
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. face — to confront
  7. bank — for money
  8. face — to point toward
  9. shower — rain
  10. bank — of a river
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bank — for money
  16. object — an aim
  17. deal — to handle
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — to wash
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. degree — temperature
  22. object — a thing
  23. cell — in biology
  24. degree — an amount

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