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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — for betting
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bulb — for light
  12. mug — a face
  13. hand — help
  14. degree — from a university
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bulb — for light
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mug — a cup
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. degree — an amount
  21. mug — to rob
  22. hand — in cards
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wind — moving air

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