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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. spring — a coil
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wake — a trail
  16. spring — the season
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cue — a signal
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. spring — of water

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