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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. foot — a measure
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mine — for digging
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. content — the amount
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. degree — from a university
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. degree — temperature
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. fine — high quality
  18. chip — to eat
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. fine — all right
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. hide — animal skin

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