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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cue — for pool
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — in cards
  7. press — to push
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cue — a signal
  11. press — a publisher
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. fine — all right
  15. cue — a hint
  16. press — newspapers
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fine — high quality
  24. leaves — of a tree

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