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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. chest — a box
  3. degree — from a university
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chest — of your body
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rule — government
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. degree — temperature
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. rule — a law
  17. cue — a signal
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cue — for pool
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rule — to rule out

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