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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. degree — from a university
  5. bound — tied together
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. race — a contest
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cue — a hint
  11. cue — for pool
  12. race — humankind
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cue — a signal
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bound — certain
  18. game — a match
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bound — obliged
  23. wake — a trail
  24. game — wild animals

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