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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 120 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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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: dip · cap · row · degree · chip · stick · prune · fall

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cap — a hat
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cap — of ice
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. prune — to trim
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. degree — from a university
  20. row — a line
  21. chip — for betting
  22. cap — a lid
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. fall — the season

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