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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — from crying
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chip — to eat
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. staff — a stick
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chip — for betting
  16. tear — to rip
  17. degree — from a university
  18. staff — employees
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stem — to come from
  24. staff — employees

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