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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: chest · roll · kid · cap · chip · nail · degree · bass

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. roll — a cake
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. roll — a list
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bass — the fish
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — from a university
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chip — for betting
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. bass — low music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. cap — a lid

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