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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. degree — an amount
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. can — to be able to
  7. shower — rain
  8. can — a tin
  9. deal — to handle
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chip — for betting
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. chip — to eat
  16. net — after costs
  17. can — a tin
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — from a university
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. game — wild animals
  23. degree — temperature
  24. game — a match

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