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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 116 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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. land — a country
  3. content — happy
  4. net — for catching
  5. degree — from a university
  6. land — ground
  7. net — after costs
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. content — the amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. chair — a leader
  14. suit — to fit
  15. suit — in cards
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. suit — clothes
  18. land — to come down
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chip — to eat
  22. degree — an amount
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. net — in sport

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