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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · cabinet · chip · degree · clip · ball

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. clip — a video
  3. ball — a dance
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ball — a great time
  17. degree — from a university
  18. clip — for paper

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