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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. rule — government
  3. capital — money
  4. degree — from a university
  5. land — ground
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chip — to eat
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. land — to come down
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. land — a country
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. kid — child
  24. degree — temperature

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