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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. ball — a dance
  5. chip — to eat
  6. band — a ring
  7. press — a publisher
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. stock — goods
  11. ball — a great time
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. press — newspapers
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. band — a music group
  19. deal — to handle
  20. stock — shares
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. chip — for betting
  24. press — to push

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