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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: degree · mark · dip · cold · stand · face · shower · racket

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. mark — a trace
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. shower — to wash
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stand — to bear
  15. mark — a grade
  16. degree — an amount
  17. face — to confront
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. degree — from a university
  21. face — part of the head
  22. shower — rain
  23. face — to point toward
  24. dip — to sink

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