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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: chip · swing · present · rule · degree · land · cell · toast

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. rule — a law
  4. land — ground
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. land — a country
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. swing — in golf
  9. toast — bread
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cell — a phone
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. present — the time now
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rule — government
  17. land — to come down
  18. degree — an amount
  19. present — there
  20. cell — in biology
  21. swing — to play on
  22. present — a gift
  23. swing — music
  24. chip — to eat

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