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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pop — to visit
  4. chest — of your body
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cell — in biology
  7. degree — temperature
  8. pop — music
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. net — after costs
  14. cell — a phone
  15. net — for catching
  16. row — a line
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. chip — to eat
  19. degree — an amount
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pop — soda
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. net — in 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