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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chip — for betting
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mine — for digging
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. dip — to sink
  14. degree — temperature
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mine — an explosive

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