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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 120 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: chair · bowl · club · cell · tube · degree

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cell — in biology
  8. club — a group
  9. chair — a leader
  10. tube — a container
  11. club — for golf
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. club — for dancing
  17. cell — a phone
  18. tube — in a tire

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