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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 116 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: object · ball · march · degree · cell · deal

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. march — the month
  3. object — an aim
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — to handle
  7. march — the month
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a great time
  11. object — to protest
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cell — a phone
  14. object — a thing
  15. march — music
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cell — in biology
  18. ball — a round shape

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