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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 · fan · chip · fall · tear · pit · season · pitcher

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chip — to eat
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pit — in a race
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fall — the season
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — an amount
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. season — in sport
  18. chip — for betting
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. tear — from crying
  21. season — of the year
  22. pit — a hole
  23. degree — temperature
  24. season — to add flavour

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