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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wound — an injury
  4. degree — temperature
  5. charge — electricity
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. ground — a position
  9. cell — a phone
  10. tear — to rip
  11. chip — to eat
  12. wound — an injury
  13. charge — in control
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rest — a break
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ground — crushed
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. charge — a price
  24. rest — what's left

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