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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. toast — bread
  3. chip — for betting
  4. club — a group
  5. degree — an amount
  6. row — to paddle
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. row — a line
  9. club — for dancing
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. degree — temperature
  12. club — for golf
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. net — in sport
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chip — to eat
  18. net — after costs
  19. bat — the animal
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. degree — from a university

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