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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: straw · wind · chip · spell · press · degree

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spell — letters
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chip — for betting
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chip — to eat
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. spell — magic
  14. degree — an amount
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — to push
  17. press — newspapers
  18. degree — from a university

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