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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 120 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: cell · degree · racket · dip · kid · march

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. degree — temperature
  6. march — the month
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. kid — to tease
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — in biology
  12. kid — child
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cell — a phone
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. degree — an amount
  18. march — music

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