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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. foot — a measure
  5. kid — to tease
  6. degree — temperature
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. chip — to eat
  9. season — in sport
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. season — of the year
  16. branch — a division
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chip — for betting
  19. pitch — completely
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. pound — a weight
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. season — to add flavour

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