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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cue — for pool
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pit — a hole
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. ground — a position
  13. degree — temperature
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cue — a signal
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. ground — the earth
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cue — a hint

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