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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.

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: degree · cabinet · rash · snap · trunk · hand · clip · chip

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. hand — in cards
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. clip — a video
  18. chip — to eat
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. hand — help
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. chip — for betting

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