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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. degree — an amount
  3. face — part of the head
  4. field — a subject
  5. cell — a phone
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. board — to get on
  10. chip — to eat
  11. field — for sport
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. field — farmland
  15. face — to point toward
  16. dip — to sink
  17. face — to confront
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. degree — temperature
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. board — a committee
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chip — in a computer

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