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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. ground — the earth
  3. scale — size or range
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kick — in football
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. ground — crushed
  11. staff — a stick
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. ground — a position
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. shower — to wash
  16. staff — employees
  17. degree — from a university
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — the animal
  20. shower — rain
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. scale — in music

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