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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: chip · degree · chair · scale · patient · rock · face · snap

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. snap — to click
  3. scale — in music
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. scale — size or range
  9. chair — a leader
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rock — a stone
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rock — music
  16. degree — temperature
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. chip — for betting
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in 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