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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. degree — from a university
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. snap — to click
  5. degree — an amount
  6. drill — a practice
  7. sharp — clever
  8. drill — the tool
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. drill — army training
  15. wind — moving air
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. degree — temperature
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. chip — to eat
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cue — a hint
  22. cue — a signal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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