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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: cell · firm · chest · current · degree · hide

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cell — a phone
  4. firm — a company
  5. degree — temperature
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. firm — decided
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. current — electric
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. chest — a box
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. cell — in biology
  18. firm — steady

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