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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 · chair · degree · cue · fine · foot · deal · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. deal — to handle
  3. chair — a leader
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fine — all right
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. staff — employees
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cue — a signal
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. staff — a stick
  24. foot — a measure

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