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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mark — a trace
  7. degree — an amount
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. degree — temperature
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mark — a grade
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cue — for pool

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