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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: chip · season · degree · pitcher · race · board

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — a contest
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. board — a committee
  9. degree — temperature
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chip — for betting
  12. season — of the year
  13. board — to get on
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. race — the arms race
  16. degree — an amount
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug

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