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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: degree · lean · board · squash · chip · net · key · tear

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. key — in music
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. key — for a lock
  6. net — in sport
  7. key — the most important part
  8. squash — to crush
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chip — for betting
  11. lean — thin
  12. net — for catching
  13. degree — from a university
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. board — to get on
  16. tear — to rip
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. board — a committee
  19. lean — to bend
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — temperature
  22. squash — the sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. chip — to eat

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