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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: pit · degree · chip · spell · hand · season · row · mug

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. spell — a short time
  3. season — of the year
  4. chip — to eat
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hand — help
  7. chip — for betting
  8. spell — magic
  9. season — in sport
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — to rob
  12. spell — letters
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. row — a line
  16. mug — a face
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. row — to paddle
  20. degree — from a university
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a hole
  23. degree — temperature
  24. row — a quarrel

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