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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: bowl · cue · tear · sharp · degree · snap · pitcher · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. snap — to click
  16. tear — from crying
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — wild animals

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