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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: wind · degree · chip · game · snap · spell · pass · saw

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — to eat
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pass — a permit
  7. degree — from a university
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. saw — the tool
  11. spell — magic
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. spell — letters
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. degree — temperature
  18. snap — to click
  19. chip — for betting
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. game — a match
  23. spell — a short time
  24. degree — an amount

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