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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. shower — rain
  4. cue — a signal
  5. field — a subject
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cue — a hint
  8. field — farmland
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bass — low music
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cue — for pool
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. field — for sport
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rush — hurry

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