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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. last — finally
  3. game — wild animals
  4. last — to go on
  5. game — a match
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cue — a hint
  9. craft — boats
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cue — for pool
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stem — to come from
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cue — a signal
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. chest — a box
  22. craft — a skill
  23. degree — an amount
  24. last — final

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