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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: cue · roll · spell · race · degree · bass · march · fan

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. cue — a hint
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — letters
  5. race — humankind
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spell — magic
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cue — a signal
  10. race — a contest
  11. roll — a list
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. bass — low music
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bass — the fish
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spell — a short time
  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