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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. fall — the season
  7. shower — to wash
  8. cue — for pool
  9. shower — rain
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rule — a law
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fall — to drop
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rule — government
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bass — low music
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cue — a signal
  24. wake — a trail

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