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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chip — for betting
  6. fine — high quality
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mug — a cup
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. mug — a face
  15. chest — a box
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mug — to rob
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. cabinet — ministers

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