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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. scale — size or range
  7. degree — from a university
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. scale — in music
  14. band — a music group
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cue — for pool
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. kick — in football

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