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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: sharp · jam · chip · degree · game · scale · face · kid

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. scale — size or range
  6. game — a match
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. face — part of the head
  9. kid — child
  10. degree — temperature
  11. sharp — clever
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. degree — an amount
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chip — to eat
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. scale — in music
  21. chip — for betting
  22. face — to confront
  23. kid — to tease
  24. face — to point toward

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