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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cue — a signal
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cue — for pool
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — temperature
  7. season — in sport
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. root — the cause
  14. season — of the year
  15. date — the fruit
  16. root — of a plant
  17. hand — help
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cue — a hint
  24. root — of a word

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