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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. degree — temperature
  4. capital — money
  5. row — a line
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — to eat
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. capital — a city
  11. cell — a phone
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pass — a permit
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cell — in biology
  21. degree — an amount
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. degree — from a university
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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