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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. mark — a trace
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. present — the time now
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. spring — the season
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. spring — of water
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. present — there
  18. perch — the fish
  19. mark — a grade
  20. game — a match
  21. spring — a coil
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. present — a gift
  24. degree — from a university

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