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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 124 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. pop — music
  3. spring — the season
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. cue — a hint
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. spring — of water
  9. degree — temperature
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cue — a signal
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. degree — an amount
  18. present — the time now
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cue — for pool

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