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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: cell · chip · spring · degree · present · stick

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cell — a phone
  4. spring — the season
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. spring — of water
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. present — the time now
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. spring — a coil
  13. degree — temperature
  14. present — there
  15. cell — in biology
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. degree — an amount
  18. present — a gift

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