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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 · march · firm · cabinet · kid · degree

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. firm — steady
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cell — in biology
  8. march — music
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cell — a phone
  12. degree — an amount
  13. degree — temperature
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. march — the month
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — decided

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