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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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 signal
  2. net — after costs
  3. degree — from a university
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. net — in sport
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cue — for pool
  13. mark — a grade
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. net — for catching
  18. cue — a hint
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. snap — to click
  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