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

Word bank: rule · deal · degree · foot · prune · chip

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. deal — to handle
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. prune — to trim
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. foot — a measure
  12. chip — for betting
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. chip — to eat
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. chip — in a computer

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