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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: field · straw · chest · degree · bound · chip · rash · stem

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chip — for betting
  3. field — farmland
  4. chip — to eat
  5. degree — temperature
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. chest — a box
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bound — obliged
  20. chest — of your body
  21. field — a subject
  22. rash — a series
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. chest — of your body

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