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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 120 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. ground — crushed
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. degree — from a university
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mug — a face
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — a position
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — to rob
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. chip — for betting
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. chip — in a computer

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