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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. degree — from a university
  3. can — a tin
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — temperature
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. game — a match
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chip — to eat
  11. can — a tin
  12. cue — a signal
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wake — a trail
  22. can — to be able to
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. chip — in a computer

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