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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: snap · dip · mate · deal · race · band · degree · cue

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. band — a ring
  3. race — humankind
  4. cue — for pool
  5. mate — to breed
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. degree — from a university
  8. race — the arms race
  9. deal — to handle
  10. band — a music group
  11. race — a contest
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. mate — a friend
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. snap — to click
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cue — a hint
  24. dip — to sink

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