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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chip — for betting
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. file — a document
  8. deal — to handle
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. file — a tool
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. degree — an amount
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. chip — to eat
  19. degree — temperature
  20. net — after costs
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. squash — to crush

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