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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: cell · key · snap · ball · chest · coach · fork · degree

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. degree — an amount
  6. snap — to click
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fork — in a road
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. key — in music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ball — a dance
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chest — a box
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. cell — a phone

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