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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. last — to go on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. last — final
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. kid — to tease
  12. last — finally
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wake — a trail
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kid — child
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. cue — a hint
  20. cue — for pool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ball — a dance
  23. capital — money
  24. cue — a signal

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