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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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Word bank
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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: game · chip · current · degree · date · tube · spring · lie

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spring — of water
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tube — a container
  7. degree — temperature
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. current — electric
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. lie — to recline
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chip — for betting
  15. current — of water
  16. degree — from a university
  17. spring — a coil
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — the season
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. chip — to eat
  22. degree — an amount
  23. current — happening now
  24. game — a match

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