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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. bark — to shout
  3. charge — electricity
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bound — obliged
  6. row — a line
  7. cold — not warm
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. chip — to eat
  10. charge — a price
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. charge — in control
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bound — tied together
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bound — certain
  23. kick — in football
  24. bark — of a tree

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