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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bear — the animal
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. tube — a container
  6. game — wild animals
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bear — the animal
  11. game — a match
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. shower — rain
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cue — a signal
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cue — for pool
  21. shower — to wash
  22. snap — to click
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. racket — for tennis

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