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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — for pool
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rest — what's left
  9. root — the cause
  10. rest — a break
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fine — all right
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. capital — money
  17. root — of a word
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. rest — what's left
  22. capital — a city
  23. degree — an amount
  24. root — of a plant

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