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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 116 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bore — to tire
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. race — a contest
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. kid — to tease
  8. club — for golf
  9. race — humankind
  10. file — a tool
  11. club — a group
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. file — a document
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bore — to drill
  17. kid — child
  18. club — for dancing
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. race — the arms race
  22. degree — an amount
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bore — gave birth

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