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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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Word bank
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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 · cap · degree · net · scale · last · safe · branch

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. degree — an amount
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. cell — a phone
  6. degree — from a university
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. cap — of ice
  10. net — in sport
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. scale — in music
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cell — in biology
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. last — final
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. degree — temperature
  20. branch — a division
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. last — finally
  23. scale — size or range
  24. last — to go on

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