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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. field — for sport
  4. cue — a hint
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. degree — temperature
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cue — for pool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. field — farmland
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — an amount
  13. board — to get on
  14. field — a subject
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cue — a signal
  17. board — a committee
  18. wake — before a funeral

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