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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. craft — a skill
  3. degree — an amount
  4. craft — boats
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. object — a thing
  9. court — of law
  10. spell — a short time
  11. court — of a king
  12. object — an aim
  13. capital — money
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. degree — from a university
  16. object — to protest
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. chip — for betting
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. spell — magic
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. court — for sport

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