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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chip — to eat
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. tear — to rip
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. key — the most important part
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. degree — temperature
  14. tear — from crying
  15. key — for a lock
  16. club — for golf
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chip — for betting
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. degree — from a university
  24. key — in music

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