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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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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. fine — all right
  3. degree — from a university
  4. plane — a tool
  5. last — finally
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. staff — employees
  9. charge — electricity
  10. degree — temperature
  11. last — to go on
  12. fine — high quality
  13. chest — a box
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. last — final
  19. charge — in control
  20. chest — of your body
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. charge — a price
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. plane — an aircraft

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