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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. chip — for betting
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. face — part of the head
  6. degree — temperature
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. game — wild animals
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — a coil
  11. face — to confront
  12. spring — the season
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. chip — to eat
  16. staff — employees
  17. vault — a safe
  18. face — to point toward
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. degree — an amount
  22. staff — a stick
  23. row — a line
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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