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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. degree — temperature
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. degree — an amount
  7. club — for golf
  8. roll — a cake
  9. race — a contest
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — for dancing
  17. degree — from a university
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. club — a group
  20. roll — a list
  21. race — humankind
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wound — an injury
  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