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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cap — a lid
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cap — of ice
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cap — a hat
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chip — to eat
  18. stem — a stem cell

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