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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: chip · sharp · mate · deal · mine · game · degree · net

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. net — after costs
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — wild animals
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. chip — to eat
  7. game — a match
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. net — in sport
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. degree — temperature
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mate — a partner
  15. sharp — clever
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — to handle
  18. chip — for betting
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mine — for digging
  21. degree — an amount
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. mate — to breed
  24. net — for catching

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