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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: cell · degree · land · last · cue · fork · mark · present

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. last — final
  3. cue — a signal
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. last — finally
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cell — a phone
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fork — in a road
  11. last — to go on
  12. cell — in biology
  13. land — a country
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cue — for pool
  16. land — ground
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — the time now
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. mark — a trace
  21. cue — a hint
  22. degree — an amount
  23. present — there
  24. land — to come down

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