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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pitch — completely
  8. degree — temperature
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. ground — crushed
  14. chip — to eat
  15. net — in sport
  16. chip — for betting
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. net — for catching
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. net — after costs
  21. ground — a position
  22. game — a match
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. nail — for a hammer

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