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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: fork · cue · bowl · tube · pitch · degree · land · last

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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. degree — an amount
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. land — a country
  7. tube — a container
  8. land — ground
  9. pitch — completely
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cue — a hint
  12. land — to come down
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. last — finally
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. degree — temperature
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. last — to go on
  22. tube — the underground
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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