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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. chest — a box
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bulb — for light
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pitch — completely
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. degree — an amount

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