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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spell — a short time
  6. hand — in cards
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chest — of your body
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. chest — a box
  13. spell — letters
  14. mug — a cup
  15. game — a match
  16. mug — a face
  17. deal — to handle
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mug — to rob
  21. hand — help
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cue — a hint
  24. degree — from a university

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