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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: degree · branch · cell · chest · cue · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chest — a box
  4. branch — a division
  5. cell — in biology
  6. rest — a break
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cue — a hint
  10. chest — of your body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. rest — what's left
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cue — for pool

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