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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: pitcher · degree · pop · land · chip · tear · swing · net

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. degree — temperature
  3. swing — music
  4. land — a country
  5. net — for catching
  6. degree — an amount
  7. net — after costs
  8. pop — soda
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. degree — from a university
  12. swing — to play on
  13. land — to come down
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pop — to visit
  20. land — ground
  21. pop — music
  22. chip — to eat
  23. net — in sport
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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