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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 120 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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. board — a committee
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — not warm
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. staff — a stick
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — for betting
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bass — low music
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chest — of your body
  18. degree — from a university
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. chest — a box
  21. bass — the fish
  22. staff — employees
  23. degree — an amount
  24. board — to get on

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