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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. track — a song
  3. last — final
  4. lean — to bend
  5. last — to go on
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. degree — temperature
  8. last — finally
  9. hand — help
  10. degree — an amount
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mug — a cup
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a signal
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. track — a path
  18. lean — thin
  19. cue — a hint
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mug — a face
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. hand — in cards

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