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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: arm · ruler · cold · tube · file · degree · cue · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. cue — for pool
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. cue — a signal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. degree — an amount
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cue — a hint
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. tube — a container
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. degree — from a university
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — an illness

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