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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chip — for betting
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spring — of water
  7. cue — for pool
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. cue — a signal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. chip — to eat
  13. spring — a coil
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. degree — temperature
  18. plane — a tool
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. perch — the fish
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. cue — a hint
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. spring — the season

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