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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 120 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: degree · cell · deal · chest · squash · stand · march · tear

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. chest — a box
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. march — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chest — of your body
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. stand — to bear
  13. degree — temperature
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. squash — to crush
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. tear — to rip
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cell — a phone
  23. chest — of your body
  24. degree — an amount

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