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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 · mark · degree · board · content · kid · can · rash

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. content — happy
  3. board — to get on
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. mark — a trace
  9. chip — to eat
  10. kid — child
  11. degree — from a university
  12. rash — hasty
  13. content — the amount
  14. chip — for betting
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mark — a grade
  18. degree — an amount
  19. can — a tin
  20. board — a committee
  21. rash — a series
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. can — a tin
  24. degree — temperature

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