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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: mark · straw · game · degree · cue · hand · content · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. game — wild animals
  3. degree — from a university
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. degree — an amount
  6. firm — decided
  7. degree — temperature
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cue — a hint
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. hand — help
  14. content — the amount
  15. hand — in cards
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. content — happy
  21. firm — a company
  22. cue — a signal
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. hand — part of the body

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