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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: board · stick · degree · mine · pitch · rash · club · cue

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. degree — from a university
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cue — a hint
  7. rash — a series
  8. cue — for pool
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. board — a committee
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. degree — temperature
  15. rash — hasty
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. board — to get on
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pitch — completely
  22. cue — a signal
  23. degree — an amount
  24. club — a group

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