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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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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. chip — to eat
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cell — in biology
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — for paper
  12. race — humankind
  13. pound — a weight
  14. race — a contest
  15. branch — a division
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chip — for betting
  18. clip — a video
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rash — hasty
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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