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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. shower — rain
  6. cue — a signal
  7. game — wild animals
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. net — after costs
  11. chest — of your body
  12. game — a match
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. cue — a hint
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chest — a box
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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