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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: degree · chest · cap · lie · straw · cell

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. lie — to recline
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cap — a hat
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — a phone

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