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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. pop — soda
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mark — a grade
  8. file — a document
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fork — in a road
  11. drill — army training
  12. pop — music
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mark — a trace
  16. pop — to visit
  17. file — a tool
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. file — a line of people
  23. drill — the tool
  24. degree — temperature

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