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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 116 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. degree — from a university
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. rule — government
  14. chip — to eat
  15. stand — to bear
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. hand — help
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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