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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. shower — rain
  13. row — a line
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. chip — to eat
  17. dip — to sink
  18. mate — a friend
  19. shower — to wash
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. chip — for betting
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mate — to breed

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