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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. degree — from a university
  3. board — to get on
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. degree — an amount
  6. board — a committee
  7. spring — of water
  8. cap — a lid
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cap — a hat
  13. chip — to eat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. pop — music
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stem — to come from
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pop — soda
  24. board — a flat piece

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