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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 · chip · degree · patient · pop · cabinet · lean · bark

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lean — thin
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bark — to shout
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. pop — music
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. pop — soda
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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