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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: cabinet · chip · degree · press · bound · chest · jam · last

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. last — to go on
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. press — to push
  8. degree — an amount
  9. press — a publisher
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bound — obliged
  12. chip — to eat
  13. press — newspapers
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. last — finally
  22. degree — temperature
  23. last — final
  24. jam — a tight spot

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