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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. ball — a great time
  5. cue — for pool
  6. ball — a dance
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mark — a grade
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cue — a signal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. cue — a hint
  13. hand — help
  14. degree — from a university
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. degree — temperature
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. rash — a series

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