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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: clip · degree · fine · race · chip · swing

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. clip — for paper
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. degree — temperature
  5. clip — a video
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. chip — for betting
  8. race — humankind
  9. degree — an amount
  10. race — the arms race
  11. degree — from a university
  12. chip — to eat
  13. fine — high quality
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — music
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fine — all right
  18. swing — in golf

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