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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. chip — for betting
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cue — a hint
  8. row — a line
  9. cue — a signal
  10. field — for sport
  11. row — to paddle
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. degree — from a university
  14. field — a subject
  15. cue — for pool
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stem — to come from
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. field — farmland
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. chip — to eat
  24. degree — an amount

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