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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. roll — a list
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. degree — temperature
  9. roll — a cake
  10. degree — from a university
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. kid — to tease
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. toast — bread
  17. chip — to eat
  18. toast — the most admired

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