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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mug — a face
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. root — of a word
  6. degree — temperature
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cue — for pool
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cue — a signal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mug — a cup
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bound — certain
  15. mug — to rob
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cue — a hint
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. root — the cause

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