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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  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. rash — a series
  2. degree — temperature
  3. band — a ring
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chip — for betting
  7. rash — hasty
  8. craft — a skill
  9. cold — not warm
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. craft — boats
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. degree — from a university
  16. band — a music group
  17. stand — to bear
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chip — to eat
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. stand — on your feet
  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