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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 · squash · bat · fork · last · degree · prune · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. last — final
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. squash — the sport
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. degree — from a university
  9. last — to go on
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — in a road
  12. snap — to click
  13. degree — temperature
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bat — the animal
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. last — finally
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. degree — an amount

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