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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 120 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: spring · cue · dip · swing · degree · chip · kick · bat

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chip — for betting
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. kick — in football
  7. chip — to eat
  8. spring — a coil
  9. swing — in golf
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. swing — music
  12. cue — a hint
  13. spring — the season
  14. swing — to play on
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bat — the animal
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. degree — an amount
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. dip — to sink
  24. spring — of water

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