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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · chip · wind · bore · degree · mate

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bore — to drill
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mate — to breed
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cap — a lid
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wind — moving air

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