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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: rash · cell · wind · bear · chip · degree

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chip — to eat
  8. rash — a series
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cell — in biology
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bear — the animal
  17. wind — moving air
  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