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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. roll — a cake
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. roll — a list
  8. degree — an amount
  9. dip — to sink
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rock — music
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a lid
  21. degree — from a university
  22. chip — for betting
  23. hand — help
  24. dip — to dunk

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