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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: cap · degree · calf · rock · last · chip · row · cold

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. row — to paddle
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chip — to eat
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. degree — temperature
  7. last — final
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. rock — music
  10. last — finally
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. row — a line
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cap — a lid
  20. last — to go on
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — of ice
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. chip — for betting

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