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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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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: wave · deal · chest · cue · pit · roll · date · degree

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. degree — an amount
  3. cue — for pool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cue — a signal
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cue — a hint
  11. degree — temperature
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. roll — a cake
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. degree — from a university
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. roll — a list
  22. pit — a hole
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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