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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 116 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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. degree — an amount
  7. game — a match
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — to eat
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. tear — from crying
  13. degree — temperature
  14. tear — to rip
  15. game — wild animals
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pitch — completely
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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