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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: drill · chip · rash · race · snap · degree · stem · ground

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. race — the arms race
  3. drill — army training
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. rash — a series
  7. snap — to click
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rash — hasty
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. drill — a practice
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. degree — an amount
  16. race — humankind
  17. stem — to come from
  18. race — a contest
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. drill — the tool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. ground — a position
  24. stem — a stem cell

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