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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. degree — temperature
  4. game — a match
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. cue — for pool
  8. fall — the season
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. ground — the earth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. degree — an amount
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. fall — to drop
  19. ground — a position
  20. fall — to drop
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bowl — a dish

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