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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 120 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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. spring — a coil
  4. hand — in cards
  5. degree — an amount
  6. hand — help
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — after costs
  9. pass — a permit
  10. rest — a break
  11. object — a thing
  12. degree — temperature
  13. net — in sport
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cue — a hint
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spring — of water
  20. net — for catching
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. cue — a signal
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spring — the season

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