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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. season — in sport
  3. row — a line
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. rule — a law
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bulb — for light
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. rule — government
  15. rest — a break
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. season — of the year
  18. degree — an amount
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. chip — for betting
  23. degree — temperature
  24. stem — to come from

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