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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. net — for catching
  4. bore — to tire
  5. chip — for betting
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chip — to eat
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bore — to drill
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. charge — in control
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. charge — electricity
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. date — the fruit
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pound — a weight
  23. charge — a price
  24. bore — gave birth

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