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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: cabinet · straw · cell · rock · kick · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rock — music
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cell — in biology
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rock — a stone
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. straw — a straw man

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