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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wave · chip · straw · mark · degree · ball · spring · pitch

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. chip — for betting
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mark — a trace
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spring — of water
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. ball — a great time
  12. degree — from a university
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chip — to eat
  17. spring — the season
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. ball — a dance
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. mark — a grade

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