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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. cue — a signal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. stem — to come from
  6. degree — from a university
  7. land — to come down
  8. band — a music group
  9. cue — for pool
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. can — a tin
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. can — a tin
  18. band — a ring
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. degree — temperature
  23. can — to be able to
  24. degree — an amount

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