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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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Word bank
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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: mate · staff · cell · degree · deal · dip

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. staff — a stick
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mate — a friend
  6. deal — to handle
  7. degree — from a university
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cell — in biology
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. mate — a partner
  16. degree — temperature
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees

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