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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  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. cue — a hint
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. lean — to bend
  5. roll — a cake
  6. cue — for pool
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. mug — a face
  9. degree — an amount
  10. roll — a list
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mug — a cup
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mug — to rob
  15. pit — in a race
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pit — a hole
  20. lean — thin
  21. cue — a signal
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. degree — from a university
  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