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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · stock · jam · straw · cell · charge · clip · cabinet

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. degree — temperature
  3. charge — electricity
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. charge — in control
  10. stock — goods
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. clip — a video
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. stock — shares
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. degree — from a university
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cell — in biology
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. charge — a price
  24. clip — for paper

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