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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. cue — a signal
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — a committee
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wake — a trail
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — for pool
  13. net — in sport
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mine — for digging
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. board — to get on
  20. net — after costs
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. net — for catching
  24. degree — from a university

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