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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rest · tube · field · degree · club · game · cue · mark

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rest — what's left
  3. degree — an amount
  4. game — a match
  5. rest — a break
  6. cue — a hint
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mark — a trace
  9. club — for golf
  10. mark — a grade
  11. field — a subject
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cue — a signal
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cue — for pool
  16. game — wild animals
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rest — what's left
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. degree — temperature
  21. field — for sport
  22. club — a group
  23. field — farmland
  24. tube — a container

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