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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cue — a signal
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wake — a trail
  9. key — in music
  10. cue — for pool
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fall — to drop
  14. key — for a lock
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fall — the season
  17. key — the most important part
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cue — a hint
  22. kick — in football
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. degree — an amount

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