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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. degree — temperature
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wax — to grow
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. field — for sport
  14. chip — to eat
  15. field — farmland
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. squash — the sport
  18. degree — an amount
  19. squash — to crush
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bark — to shout
  22. stock — shares
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stock — goods

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