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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. degree — temperature
  5. key — in music
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fine — all right
  12. key — the most important part
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. scale — size or range
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. scale — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. fine — high quality
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chest — of your body

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