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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. kid — child
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. current — electric
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. current — of water
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wind — moving air
  13. degree — an amount
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. current — happening now
  16. kid — to tease
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — to eat
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. lie — to recline
  24. degree — temperature

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