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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: object · chip · straw · clip · track · mug · degree · pound

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. track — to keep track
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mug — to rob
  6. object — to protest
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mug — a cup
  11. degree — temperature
  12. clip — a video
  13. track — a song
  14. object — an aim
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mug — a face
  17. track — a path
  18. pound — a weight
  19. degree — from a university
  20. clip — for paper
  21. object — a thing
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chip — in a computer

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