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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. degree — an amount
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bank — for money
  7. kid — to tease
  8. degree — from a university
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. degree — temperature
  12. chip — to eat
  13. kid — child
  14. bank — for money
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chip — for betting
  24. pound — for dogs

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