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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. foot — a measure
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. degree — temperature
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. chip — for betting
  18. degree — an amount

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