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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. file — a document
  3. cue — a signal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. clip — to cut
  11. ball — a dance
  12. file — a tool
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. clip — a video
  17. game — a match
  18. chair — a leader
  19. cue — for pool
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. game — wild animals
  22. file — a line of people
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cue — a hint

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