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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. chip — for betting
  3. degree — temperature
  4. shower — to wash
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — an illness
  8. degree — an amount
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. cold — not warm
  16. last — finally
  17. degree — from a university
  18. band — a ring
  19. last — final
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. band — a music group

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