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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. rest — a break
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bound — obliged
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wind — moving air
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bound — certain
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chip — for betting

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