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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 120 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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rule — a law
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. rule — government
  9. clip — to cut
  10. root — the cause
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. chip — for betting
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. net — for catching
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wave — of the sea

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