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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chip — for betting
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. hand — in cards
  10. game — a match
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. degree — from a university
  13. game — wild animals
  14. degree — an amount
  15. season — in sport
  16. stock — goods
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — help
  20. stock — shares
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. season — of the year
  24. chip — to eat

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