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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitch — completely
  3. chip — to eat
  4. court — of law
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pound — a weight
  8. court — for sport
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. degree — an amount
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. degree — from a university
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. tube — a container

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