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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 116 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 · degree · pass · bark · shower · net · bank

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. face — to point toward
  4. net — after costs
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bank — for money
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bank — for money
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. pass — a permit
  11. net — in sport
  12. bark — to shout
  13. cell — a phone
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bank — of a river
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. degree — an amount
  24. net — for catching

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