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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. march — the month
  3. cue — a signal
  4. ground — the earth
  5. degree — an amount
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cue — a hint
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. plane — a tool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ground — crushed
  19. game — a match
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ground — a position
  24. branch — a division

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