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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: mine · present · kid · mouse · degree · straw · chip · bear

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chip — for betting
  4. degree — temperature
  5. chip — to eat
  6. present — the time now
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. mine — for digging
  20. degree — from a university
  21. present — a gift
  22. degree — an amount
  23. present — there
  24. mouse — for a computer

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