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

Word bank: mark · straw · bowl · chip · race · degree

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. degree — from a university
  6. race — humankind
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. mark — a trace
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. race — a contest
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. race — the arms race
  18. degree — temperature

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