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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 · prune · ground · degree · temple · chair · file · ball

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ball — a great time
  3. chair — a leader
  4. degree — temperature
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. file — a document
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. ground — the earth
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. degree — from a university
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — a phone
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ground — a position
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ground — crushed
  24. temple — a place of worship

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