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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: degree · last · chip · bass · clip · ruler · kick · row

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. row — a line
  5. clip — for paper
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bass — the fish
  8. clip — to cut
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chip — for betting
  12. kick — in football
  13. chip — to eat
  14. last — final
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bass — low music
  19. last — to go on
  20. row — to paddle
  21. clip — a video
  22. last — finally
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bass — the instrument

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