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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: pop · file · kid · coach · chip · press · court · degree

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. kid — to tease
  3. degree — from a university
  4. press — to push
  5. court — for sport
  6. file — a line of people
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pop — to visit
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. pop — soda
  11. file — a document
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pop — music
  15. chip — to eat
  16. file — a tool
  17. press — newspapers
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. court — of a king
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. court — of law
  24. kid — child

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