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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. degree — an amount
  3. last — to go on
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. file — a tool
  9. chip — for betting
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. file — a document
  12. degree — temperature
  13. last — final
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. degree — from a university
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. last — finally
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. file — a line of people

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