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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — decided
  6. cell — in biology
  7. clip — for paper
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cell — a phone
  11. season — in sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. stand — to bear
  15. hand — in cards
  16. season — of the year
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. chip — to eat
  19. degree — from a university
  20. clip — a video
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. clip — to cut
  24. firm — a company

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