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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: foot · straw · snap · degree · leaves · row · nail · chip

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. row — a line
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — from a university
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chip — to eat
  9. foot — a measure
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. chip — for betting
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. degree — temperature
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. row — to paddle

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