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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 120 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cue — a hint
  3. drill — a practice
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cue — a signal
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. cue — for pool
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mine — for digging
  12. drill — the tool
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. field — farmland
  15. degree — an amount
  16. field — for sport
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. scale — in music
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. bass — low music
  22. field — a subject
  23. drill — army training
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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