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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 116 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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bulb — for light
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wind — moving air
  7. game — wild animals
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bulb — for light
  10. game — a match
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. ball — a dance
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pound — a weight
  24. ball — a round shape

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