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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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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: row · degree · court · chip · mark · branch · hand · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chip — for betting
  3. court — for sport
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. chip — to eat
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mark — a grade
  9. degree — temperature
  10. mark — a trace
  11. court — of a king
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. row — a line
  14. hand — help
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. snap — to click
  17. court — of law
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. row — to paddle
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. branch — a division
  24. hand — in cards

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