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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 116 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: mine · cap · cell · court · bear · degree · hide · chip

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. degree — temperature
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cell — in biology
  14. court — of a king
  15. bear — the animal
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — for betting
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cell — a phone
  24. mine — an explosive

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