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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 116 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: ball · degree · chip · coach · stock · cell · clip · pass

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — shares
  4. chip — for betting
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pass — a permit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cell — a phone
  15. clip — a video
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ball — a great time
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chip — in a computer

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