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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cue — a signal
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pop — soda
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cue — a hint
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pop — to visit
  15. cue — for pool
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. shower — to wash
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. degree — temperature

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