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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. clip — a video
  5. chip — to eat
  6. court — of a king
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. clip — for paper
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. roll — a cake
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wax — to grow
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — temperature
  23. roll — a list
  24. foot — a measure

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