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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cold — an illness
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. staff — employees
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cold — not warm

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