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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: land · mate · rush · cue · chip · last · pitcher · degree

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. last — final
  3. cue — a hint
  4. last — to go on
  5. land — ground
  6. chip — for betting
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. land — a country
  10. last — finally
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. land — to come down
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cue — a signal
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. rush — hurry
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mate — to breed
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cue — for pool

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