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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. degree — an amount
  3. game — wild animals
  4. degree — temperature
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cue — for pool
  7. game — a match
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. kick — in football
  12. wake — a trail
  13. face — part of the head
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. degree — from a university
  18. face — to point toward
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. face — to confront
  22. cue — a signal
  23. squash — to crush
  24. wake — before a funeral

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