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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. rock — music
  3. march — the month
  4. degree — an amount
  5. court — of a king
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rock — a stone
  8. row — to paddle
  9. ground — crushed
  10. court — for sport
  11. march — the month
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. march — music
  15. perch — the fish
  16. row — a line
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chip — to eat
  19. degree — temperature
  20. court — of law
  21. degree — from a university
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. ground — a position

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