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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: toast · straw · row · stick · degree · chip · pop · race

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pop — soda
  3. chip — for betting
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chip — to eat
  9. race — the arms race
  10. toast — bread
  11. pop — music
  12. race — a contest
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pop — to visit
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. degree — temperature
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. race — humankind
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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