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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 116 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: rock · object · cue · mine · degree · last · pop · patient

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. last — finally
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — to protest
  5. last — to go on
  6. pop — soda
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pop — to visit
  12. degree — an amount
  13. last — final
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. object — a thing
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — a signal
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cue — for pool
  22. mine — for digging
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pop — 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