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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rest — what's left
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rush — hurry
  6. chip — for betting
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rest — a break
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cold — not warm
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bass — low music

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