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

Word bank: tear · chip · cell · leaves · bowl · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chip — to eat
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. chip — for betting
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. degree — from a university

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