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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. degree — temperature
  6. object — to protest
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. object — an aim
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. stock — shares
  13. object — a thing
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stock — goods
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cue — a signal
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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