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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: mark · hand · rock · degree · chip · clip · chair · branch

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. mark — a trace
  7. clip — a video
  8. hand — in cards
  9. degree — an amount
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hand — help
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chair — a leader
  16. clip — to cut
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. rock — a stone
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. branch — a division
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rock — music

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