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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. object — to protest
  2. chip — for betting
  3. firm — a company
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bat — the animal
  7. game — a match
  8. degree — an amount
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. firm — steady
  12. tube — a container
  13. object — a thing
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. firm — decided
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tube — the underground
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. object — an aim
  23. bat — for baseball
  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