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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cue — for pool
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bark — to shout
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — a city
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cue — a hint
  23. capital — money
  24. snap — to click

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