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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pitch — completely
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cue — a hint
  13. land — ground
  14. fine — high quality
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fine — all right
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. cue — for pool
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — a country

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