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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chair — a leader
  3. degree — from a university
  4. race — a contest
  5. chip — for betting
  6. craft — a skill
  7. band — a ring
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. degree — an amount
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. degree — temperature
  14. dip — to sink
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. race — humankind
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. scale — in music
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. race — the arms race
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. scale — size or range
  24. craft — boats

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