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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cue — for pool
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. pop — to visit
  5. capital — a city
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pop — soda
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. rash — hasty
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. pop — music
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cue — a signal
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cue — a hint
  19. capital — money
  20. rash — a series
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. rash — on the skin

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