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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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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 · club · game · row · kid · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. row — a line
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. degree — temperature
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kid — to tease
  10. game — wild animals
  11. kid — child
  12. club — a group
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. club — for golf
  16. cell — a phone
  17. game — a match
  18. club — for dancing

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