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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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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kick — in football
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — to eat
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. fine — all right
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mine — an explosive

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