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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. degree — temperature
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. chip — to eat
  6. cue — for pool
  7. ground — crushed
  8. cue — a hint
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — a country
  11. hand — in cards
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mug — a face
  15. scale — in music
  16. hand — help
  17. mug — to rob
  18. cue — a signal
  19. scale — size or range
  20. land — ground
  21. ground — the earth
  22. chip — for betting
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mug — a cup

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