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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 · rule · swing · straw · hand · tube

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. swing — to play on
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. hand — in cards
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. tube — the underground
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chip — to eat
  13. chip — for betting
  14. swing — in golf
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. swing — music
  17. rule — government
  18. degree — from a university
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. rule — a law
  21. hand — help
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. tube — a container
  24. last — final

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