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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: chip · object · racket · cell · chest · degree

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cell — in biology
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chest — of your body
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. degree — an amount
  9. object — to protest
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. object — a thing
  15. chest — a box
  16. chip — for betting
  17. object — an aim
  18. degree — temperature

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