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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: cabinet · chip · stem · kid · season · band · degree · ruler

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. kid — child
  4. stem — to come from
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. degree — an amount
  9. band — a music group
  10. season — of the year
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. band — a ring

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