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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: chair · chip · march · degree · stem · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. march — music
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. march — the month
  9. degree — from a university
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chair — a leader
  17. march — the month
  18. chip — to eat

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