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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. mate — a friend
  5. deal — to handle
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mate — to breed
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. can — a tin
  13. degree — an amount
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mate — a partner
  18. can — to be able to
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. chip — to eat

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