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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: trunk · cue · row · degree · wake · dip · hand · kick

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. dip — to sink
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. row — to paddle
  8. cue — a signal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. hand — in cards
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. kick — in football
  14. row — a line
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cue — for pool
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wake — a trail
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cue — a hint

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