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

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cold — not warm
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bat — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. branch — a division
  19. cell — a phone
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bat — for baseball

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