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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bank — for money
  4. game — a match
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. field — farmland
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cue — a hint
  9. pit — in a race
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. field — a subject
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. bank — of a river
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pit — a hole
  19. kick — in football
  20. field — for sport
  21. degree — temperature
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bank — for money

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