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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · bass · shower · bark · calf · coach · degree · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. chip — for betting
  2. shower — to wash
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. degree — temperature
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bark — to shout
  14. clip — to cut
  15. shower — rain
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bass — low music
  18. clip — a video
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chip — to eat
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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