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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: degree · last · chip · rule · swing · straw

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rule — government
  5. chip — to eat
  6. last — to go on
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rule — a law
  11. swing — in golf
  12. degree — from a university
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chip — for betting
  15. swing — music
  16. last — final
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. last — finally

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