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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 · pound · chip · cell · fine · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chip — for betting
  3. pop — soda
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. degree — temperature
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fine — all right
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fine — high quality
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chip — in a computer

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