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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: chest · pass · cell · snap · pound · degree · cabinet · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. snap — to click
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. current — happening now
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pass — a permit
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. current — electric
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pass — to spend time

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