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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. game — wild animals
  3. court — of a king
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cue — a signal
  6. game — a match
  7. plane — a tool
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. degree — from a university
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. court — for sport
  14. rush — hurry
  15. cue — for pool
  16. court — of law
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. degree — an amount
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cue — a hint
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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