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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. squash — to crush
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chip — to eat
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. chip — for betting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. degree — temperature
  16. land — to come down
  17. squash — the sport
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. firm — steady
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. degree — an amount
  23. firm — a company
  24. firm — decided

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