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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: cell · chair · degree · cue · fine · foot

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cue — for pool
  5. foot — a measure
  6. cue — a hint
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cell — in biology
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cue — a signal
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. fine — high quality
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cell — a phone
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. fine — all right

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