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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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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: trunk · degree · chip · date · race · swing · plane · straw

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chip — to eat
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. race — the arms race
  8. swing — music
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. degree — temperature
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. plane — a tool
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. degree — an amount

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