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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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Word bank
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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: bore · degree · straw · wind · sharp · mug · cue · foot

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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. wind — moving air
  4. degree — temperature
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. sharp — clever
  7. foot — a measure
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. degree — from a university
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — to rob
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cue — a hint
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — to tire

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