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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: root · racket · chip · wind · date · nail · chest · degree

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chip — to eat
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. chest — a box
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. root — of a word
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. root — the cause
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. date — the fruit
  15. root — of a plant
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wind — moving air
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wind — moving air
  23. nail — on a finger
  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