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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cue — a hint
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. suit — clothes
  6. cue — a signal
  7. mine — for digging
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. suit — in cards
  10. cue — for pool
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. game — a match
  15. chip — for betting
  16. suit — to fit
  17. vault — a safe
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chest — of your body
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. degree — an amount
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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