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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. kid — child
  7. degree — temperature
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. tube — a container
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bear — the animal
  15. file — a tool
  16. bear — the animal
  17. season — of the year
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. season — in sport
  20. file — a document
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. chip — to eat
  24. leaves — to go away

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