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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cue — a hint
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cue — for pool
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bank — of a river
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. cue — a signal
  18. spring — a coil
  19. swing — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spring — of water

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