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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. drill — a practice
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. drill — the tool
  19. degree — from a university
  20. drill — army training
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cue — a signal
  23. snap — to click
  24. mark — a trace

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