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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cap — a hat
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cell — in biology
  13. snap — to click
  14. cell — a phone
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cap — a lid
  21. rest — a break
  22. cue — for pool
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a kind of play

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