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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — for betting
  5. ball — a dance
  6. game — a match
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bat — the animal
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. pound — a weight
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ball — a great time
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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