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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 116 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: degree · pit · pitcher · bore · chip · hide · wind · cell

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. chip — to eat
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bore — to drill
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bore — to tire
  17. chip — for betting
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bore — gave birth

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