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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. present — there
  3. ball — a great time
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rule — government
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. present — the time now
  9. degree — an amount
  10. foot — a measure
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bore — to tire
  17. rule — a law
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. degree — temperature
  21. row — a line
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. present — a gift
  24. chip — for betting

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