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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. firm — decided
  5. degree — from a university
  6. march — music
  7. court — of law
  8. bat — the animal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bound — certain
  13. band — a ring
  14. firm — steady
  15. band — a music group
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. march — the month
  21. court — for sport
  22. bound — obliged
  23. march — the month
  24. court — of a king

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