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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — a container
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. degree — temperature
  10. chip — for betting
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. degree — from a university
  13. tube — the underground
  14. rash — hasty
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rash — a series
  23. ball — a great time
  24. chip — to eat

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