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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. degree — an amount
  3. mark — a grade
  4. degree — temperature
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. chip — to eat
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pit — a hole
  11. chip — for betting
  12. scale — in music
  13. pit — in a race
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cue — a signal
  16. mark — a trace
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. cue — for pool
  22. field — a subject
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — to recline

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