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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 120 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: kid · bowl · degree · chip · dip · march

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. kid — to tease
  4. march — music
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. degree — from a university
  8. march — the month
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. degree — an amount
  11. kid — child
  12. dip — to sink
  13. chip — to eat
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — temperature
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bowl — a football final

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