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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. chip — for betting
  4. charge — in control
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. charge — electricity
  10. rest — a break
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rest — what's left
  16. charge — a price
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cold — an illness
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. track — to keep track

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