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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — a signal
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. court — for sport
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cue — for pool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bass — low music
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bass — the fish
  18. pitch — completely
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mine — for digging
  21. snap — to click
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. degree — an amount

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