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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
468
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 · present · deal · field · shower · pop · content · cue

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pop — soda
  4. shower — rain
  5. field — farmland
  6. cue — for pool
  7. degree — an amount
  8. present — there
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. field — a subject
  12. content — happy
  13. pop — to visit
  14. degree — from a university
  15. present — the time now
  16. deal — to handle
  17. degree — temperature
  18. field — for sport
  19. present — a gift
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. cue — a signal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. content — the amount
  24. pop — music

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