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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. degree — temperature
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cap — of ice
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cap — a hat
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. cap — a lid
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. degree — from a university
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. clip — for paper
  16. chip — for betting
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cell — a phone

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