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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. degree — from a university
  3. kid — child
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. face — to point toward
  8. face — part of the head
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chip — to eat
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. hand — help
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — for betting
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. face — to confront
  22. club — for dancing
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. hand — part of the body

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