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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. degree — from a university
  3. roll — a cake
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. rush — hurry
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. chip — to eat
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chip — for betting
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chest — of your body
  14. degree — temperature
  15. roll — a list
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. chest — of your body
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. pound — a weight
  20. chest — a box
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. cap — a lid

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