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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: degree · race · safe · date · cue · ball · fork · wake

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. ball — a great time
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. race — the arms race
  5. date — the fruit
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. degree — from a university
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — an amount
  11. race — humankind
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. race — a contest
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a hint
  21. ball — a dance
  22. wake — a trail
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fork — in a road

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