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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: cabinet · staff · cell · wave · degree · race

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  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. staff — employees
  2. degree — an amount
  3. staff — employees
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. race — a contest
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. race — humankind
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  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