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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 120 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. degree — temperature
  4. track — a path
  5. cue — a signal
  6. track — a song
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. staff — employees
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. degree — an amount
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. staff — a stick
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. staff — employees
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a hint
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. track — to keep track

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