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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. cue — for pool
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wind — moving air
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. degree — an amount
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cue — a hint
  12. wind — moving air
  13. net — for catching
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. degree — temperature
  16. pop — to visit
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pop — soda
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. pop — music
  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