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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. ground — crushed
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chip — to eat
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hand — in cards
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cue — a hint
  14. hand — help
  15. cue — a signal
  16. chip — for betting
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. ground — a position
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. ground — the earth
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — an amount
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. cue — for pool

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