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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chip — to eat
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. race — humankind
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitch — completely
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. race — a contest
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. race — the arms race
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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