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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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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: cue · bulb · key · wake · row · wind · chair · degree

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. row — a line
  9. key — the most important part
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cue — a signal
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. row — to paddle
  20. key — for a lock
  21. chair — a leader
  22. cue — for pool
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. key — in music

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