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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. firm — a company
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. game — a match
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. cold — an illness
  14. firm — steady
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. firm — decided
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cue — a hint
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. degree — temperature
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cold — not warm

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