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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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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: board · degree · ruler · mate · snap · bound · chip · clip

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. board — to get on
  3. bound — tied together
  4. chip — for betting
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. clip — for paper
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mate — to breed
  9. clip — to cut
  10. snap — to click
  11. clip — a video
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. mate — a partner
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. chip — to eat
  16. degree — from a university
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bound — certain
  19. degree — an amount
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bound — obliged
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. board — a committee
  24. ruler — a monarch

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