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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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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: chip · season · degree · pitcher · race · board · kid · content

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. content — the amount
  4. degree — from a university
  5. race — a contest
  6. degree — an amount
  7. race — humankind
  8. chip — to eat
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. board — to get on
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. content — happy
  16. kid — child
  17. chip — for betting
  18. season — in sport
  19. board — a committee
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. race — the arms race
  24. board — a flat piece

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