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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: land · racket · degree · cell · last · bowl

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. last — to go on
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. last — finally
  6. cell — a phone
  7. degree — an amount
  8. cell — in biology
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. land — to come down
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. degree — temperature
  18. last — final

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