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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. 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. degree — an amount
  2. fall — to drop
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. chip — to eat
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chip — for betting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. club — a group
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. club — for golf
  21. saw — the tool
  22. foot — a measure
  23. fall — the season
  24. 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