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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: ball · chip · pound · foot · degree · deal · file · lean

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. degree — an amount
  3. ball — a great time
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. chip — for betting
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. foot — a measure
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. file — a document
  14. chip — to eat
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. degree — temperature
  17. ball — a dance
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pound — a weight
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. foot — part of the body

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