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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 120 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. pop — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ground — the earth
  5. kick — in football
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rush — hurry
  9. chip — for betting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. degree — temperature
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. ground — a position
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pop — soda
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pop — to visit
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rush — a thrill

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