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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: race · squash · pitcher · degree · wound · cue · mark · season

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. degree — from a university
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. cue — for pool
  8. race — a contest
  9. season — of the year
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. race — the arms race
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mark — a grade
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. race — humankind
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. cue — a hint
  24. squash — the vegetable

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