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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. capital — money
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — help
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. ground — a position
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. capital — a city
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. degree — temperature
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. chip — to eat
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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