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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: saw · chest · cue · bore · pop · land · pitcher · degree

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. degree — an amount
  3. chest — a box
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bore — to drill
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pop — soda
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — for pool
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. land — a country
  18. degree — from a university
  19. land — to come down
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. land — ground

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