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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. ball — a great time
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bank — for money
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — to eat
  12. degree — an amount
  13. swing — music
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — of a river
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bat — for baseball

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