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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: season · drill · chest · degree · cue · straw · dip · board

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. cue — for pool
  4. season — in sport
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cue — a signal
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cue — a hint
  9. chest — of your body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — temperature
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. board — a committee
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chest — a box
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. board — to get on
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. dip — to sink

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