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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: bat · safe · chest · stem · degree · cell · fall · game

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. game — a match
  3. degree — temperature
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cell — a phone
  8. degree — from a university
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fall — the season
  16. chest — of your body
  17. degree — an amount
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. chest — a box
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fall — to drop

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