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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. rash — hasty
  4. ball — a dance
  5. chip — to eat
  6. kid — to tease
  7. land — to come down
  8. degree — temperature
  9. land — ground
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. rash — a series
  12. pitch — completely
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. toast — bread
  17. kid — child
  18. degree — from a university
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. land — a country
  22. chip — for betting
  23. degree — an amount
  24. ball — a great time

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