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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: land · chip · ball · cue · degree · spring · bay · pop

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cue — a hint
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ball — a dance
  5. land — a country
  6. degree — an amount
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. pop — to visit
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pop — soda
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — the season
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. pop — music
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. land — ground
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spring — of water
  24. degree — temperature

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