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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 120 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: degree · cue · fork · coach · pop · spell · tube · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. rash — on the skin
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pop — music
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. spell — magic
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. spell — letters
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — to visit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cue — a hint
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cue — a signal
  17. rash — hasty
  18. cue — for pool
  19. spell — a short time
  20. degree — an amount
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. rash — a series
  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