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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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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 · foot · cell · rule · object · cue

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. rule — government
  3. object — an aim
  4. rule — a law
  5. object — a thing
  6. cell — in biology
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cell — a phone
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. degree — an amount
  12. object — to protest
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. rule — to rule out

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