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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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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: fan · degree · cell · lie · bay · hide · craft · snap

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. craft — a skill
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. degree — an amount
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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