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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: roll · degree · race · chip · ground · chest · bay · foot

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. race — a contest
  3. chip — to eat
  4. degree — an amount
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. chest — of your body
  10. race — humankind
  11. ground — a position
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. race — the arms race
  14. chest — a box
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. roll — a list
  17. chip — for betting
  18. foot — a measure
  19. roll — a cake
  20. ground — crushed
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. chest — of your body
  23. degree — temperature
  24. chip — in a computer

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