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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · toast · cue · degree · deal · chest

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cue — for pool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cue — a signal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. degree — an amount
  9. drill — a practice
  10. deal — to handle
  11. drill — the tool
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — bread
  14. chest — of your body
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. chest — a box
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. drill — army training

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