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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spring — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. present — there
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. present — the time now
  10. stand — to bear
  11. rock — music
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. rock — a stone
  14. current — of water
  15. current — electric
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. spring — the season
  18. hand — help
  19. chip — to eat
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spring — a coil
  22. degree — an amount
  23. present — a gift
  24. rock — to move gently

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