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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. capital — money
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. chip — to eat
  8. degree — an amount
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — government
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pound — a weight
  17. capital — a city
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rule — a law
  24. capital — a big letter

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