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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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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 · ground · kid · degree · key · wake · cell

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. ground — the earth
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cell — a phone
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. kid — child
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wake — a trail
  18. key — for a lock
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. ground — a position
  23. degree — temperature
  24. key — in music

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