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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: bear · straw · degree · kid · bore · chip · pop · stem

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bear — the animal
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pop — to visit
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pop — music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pop — soda
  10. bore — to tire
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kid — to tease
  18. stem — to come from
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bear — the animal
  22. kid — child
  23. degree — an amount
  24. stem — of a plant

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