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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 a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. hand — help
  3. chip — for betting
  4. spell — a short time
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. field — farmland
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — temperature
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. field — a subject
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. spell — letters
  16. degree — an amount
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. spell — magic
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. field — for sport
  22. chip — to eat
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bowl — a football final

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